ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The City of Escanaba is making progress on a new renewable energy facility.
The Escanaba Electric Department is installing a 1.4-megawatt solar farm at the Whitetail Industrial Park, which is City-owned property. Estimated to cost between $3.5 and $4 million, the project takes advantage of tax incentives available through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
“We’re hoping to get about 50% of the project funding back,” said Electric Utility Director Gerald Pirkola.
The solar farm is projected to generate approximately 2% of the City’s annual usage. It is also designed to help the City meet State requirements involving renewable energy certificates (RECs), which represent one megawatt-hour of energy.
“Per the Michigan laws, 15% of our energy used needs to be retired as RECs,” Pirkola explained. “With this facility and the other existing solar facility, it will generate over 4,000 RECS per year. Right now, our annual requirement is around 18,000 – 19,000 RECs per year, so that’s a significant portion of our RECs. When they’re generating in the summer, these solar facilities should help reduce our capacity payments and also our transmission costs.”
Construction bids will open on Thursday, October 22. Installation is on track to be completed in June or July of 2027.
For additional background information on the Whitetail Solar Farm, click here.
