Completion has taken longer than expected on solar panels and LED lighting that the city is buying to save on energy costs.
The contract with the PSG Energy Group has taken much longer than planned. LED lighting is being put in all city-owned facilities and solar panels at 14 locations
Noah Pickerel and Jennifer Mrzlack of PSG gave a project update to the Connersville City Council. Mrzlack thanked council members for their patience.
“We all know this has taken longer than we planned but I want to remind you these are construction projects, 14 (solar) construction projects going at the same time,” she explained. “There is a 20-year guarantee on the performance and an additional five years guarantee on the equipment performance. The useful life is considered 30-40 plus years.”
The guarantee will not start until substantial completion has been made at each site and savings will begin as each site is connected to the grid, she said.
The savings in electrical costs will pay for the infrastructure.
While solar panels have been in place for several months at four locations – Connersville Utilities Vine Street office, City Hall and Fire Stations 3 and 4 – the panels are still not connected to the electric grid.
Duke Energy has been consulted as the project moves forward and they will install meters as the electrical connections are ready, Mrzlack said.
Pickerel said an electrician had been scheduled to start Monday connecting the four completed sites.
“It hopefully will take the week, but it could be they are waiting on a transformer for one site,” he said. “But they should be able to get the data and other aspects buttoned up.”
Mechanical installations have begun at Fire Station 1 and the waste transfer station. Early October will see the mechanical installation at Roberts Park and the water treatment plant along Park Road, Mrzlack said. Borings will start under the Whitewater River, Connersville Airport and at the Roberts Park amphitheater in mid-October. Then work will begin at the remaining sites.
She said the Connersville Utilities Ohio Avenue site has been removed from the project because Duke required some equipment that made it no longer fiscally feasible for the size of the project. The Fayette County Emergency Medical Services building on Park Road has been added to the project.
A structural analysis on that building must be performed before moving forward, she said.
The installation of a new roof at the Street Department garage has been added to the project, Mrzlack said. Completion there will be well behind other locations.
The superstructure at the amphitheater is being reinforced to accommodate the additional weight of solar panels. Once that work is completed, then the solar panel racking can be added, Pickerel said.
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