AAC Solar
COVER STORY Continued From Page 25 <<<
More than 5,400 solar panels are mounted atop two office buildings and the shops at the road department (above), as well as in a ground field on Washington County’s south campus near Clydesdale Drive (Pages 24-25). Photos courtesy of Seal Solar and Johnson Controls.
for a new HVAC system for the courthouse and eliminate a building chilling system that was built in the 1970s. “Te county needed to consider how to address deferred maintenance within the county facilities at no cost or at a low- cost approach,” County Judge Kevin Smith said. Planning for the solar system in Howard County began
around June 2019, and the panels were activated in Decem- ber 2019. Te 240-kilowatt system is located in Nashville on roughly three acres of land owned by the county. Tat system was built by the Seattle-based design and
construction company McKinstry for $1.85 million dollars. McKinstry has a three-year contract to assist Howard County in the verification of the production. Te county is responsible for the operation and maintenance that includes cleaning the panels, maintaining the yard and landscaping, and conducting annual ground tests. Te whole project was financed at a budget-neutral savings guarantee approach for 20 years. It will realize a cash value
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of roughly $600,000 over the useful life of the solar system, Judge Smith said.
Te $1.85 million project was funded through a tax-ex- empt lease purchase and will offset almost 100 percent of the county’s electrical utility expenditure. It is expected to save the county roughly $97,000 annually. “By including the solar part of the whole project, the county will able to replace its HVAC system in the courthouse, thus increase the comfort of those that work and do business there, while lowering the cost to operate,” Judge Smith said. “It cre- ated $18 million worth of improvements without any direct cost or tax increases to our constituents.” Judge Clark Hall in Phillips County is preparing to sign a contract for a solar plant. He plans for construction to begin this fall. A separate project in Ouachita County is on hold for now, according to Judge Robbie McAdoo. And Sebastian County is in the process of researching a solar project, accord- ing to Judge David Hudson.
COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2020
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