Superior Fire Department Plans To Cut Energy Costs With Rooftop Solar Panel Array

It looks like Superior is getting into solar in a big way! As plans for the solar garden managed by Superior Water Light and Power along 28th Street move forward - with ground already broken - another large-scale solar array development has been announced.

The Superior Public Safety Committee recently approved the plans for the Superior Fire Department to construct a solar panel array on top of their fire station headquarters located along Tower Avenue. A combination of tax credits and capital budget provisions will pay for the installation and hardware.

Under terms of the deal, the department will pay Cedar Creek Energy "nearly $365,000" to build and install the roof-mounted solar panels atop the headquarters building on Tower Avenue. The final cost will be reduced by the expected tax credits which should total $219,000. That means  that the solar panel project will come in under budget from the $250,000 that was approved as part of Superior's Capital Improvement Plan budget.

In addition to the install savings, the city will also reap the long term benefits from reduced energy costs.Those energy savings are the driving force behind the project.  According to an article in the Superior Telegram [paywall], the projected cost savings are expected to be significant:

"The array...is expected to save the city more than $16,000 annually in electricity costs, adding up to nearly $720,000 over its 30-year life span."

Now that the proposal has been cleared by the Superior Public Safety Committee, work can begin. Officials with the Superior Fire Department expect that the solar panel array will be installed on operational by August of this year.