Jul 22 - Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)



River Falls has launched a program to encourage homeowners and businesses to install solar energy systems.

While a few months into the project and only one resident -- who owns a solar installation company -- has signed up, the western Wisconsin city is confident more residents will take part.

Known as the Renewable Energy Finance Program, city and community leaders say the program shows River Falls' commitment to the environment and renewable energy.

With an $18,000 loan, Mike Harvey is installing solar panels and an electrical system to the home he shares with his fiancee. The money will be paid back through an assessment added to his property taxes.

 "I went the day they had the paperwork available to fill it out," Harvey said of his eagerness to sign up.

The lone resident to take out a loan through the program, Harvey owns River Falls-based Synergized Solar, a solar panel distribution company.

He estimates the panels, which are wind and weather rated, should pay for themselves in about 11 to 12 years with saving on electrical costs.

River Falls has been recognized as a regional leader in pushing "green" energy. This new initiative has been in the works for two years, said Mike Noreen, conservation and efficiency coordinator for River Falls Municipal Utilities, which administers the program. Residents can qualify for a loan of up to $50,000, and Noreen said the agency set aside $500,000 for the loans.

It is designed to help

homeowners who previously thought renewable energy systems were out of their financial reach, said Kelly Cain, sustainability director at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

"From a social justice equity perspective, it helps to level the playing field for everyone," said Cain, adding the River Falls program is the most significant step any city has taken. Cain is also a member of the Powerful Choices committee, a River Falls group heavily involved in renewable energy planning, including the new solar program.

This past week, Harvey and a crew of men from his installation company prepped his roof for the panels, the final step in the process. They had already installed wiring and a converter in the garage to measure how much energy is generated and consumed.

Harvey's business partner, Kevin Nyenhuis, said Wisconsin is a better solar state than many expect. The air quality is good, and the state gets an average of 4.5 sun hours per day. Plus the solar panels improve their efficiency in winter.

Along with the loan program, River Falls is hoping for an expansion of a solar buyback program by power provider WPPI Energy.

Residents who installed solar panels can sell energy their systems produce to the utility for 30 cents per kilowatt. Then WPPI sells power back to them at 10 cents per kilowatt, Noreen said. The deal runs 10 years.

But WPPI Energy gave the program in River Falls a 10-kilowatt allotment, which was used up quickly by a local school and an industrial customer. The city is waiting to see if the utility will grant a larger kilowatt allotment in the future, Noreen said.

"I think River Falls is unique in a lot of ways," said Tom Paque, WPPI's senior vice president of member and customer services. WPPI is a wholesaler of power with 51 member municipalities.

"All of our member municipalities have an energy service representative," Paque said, "but River Falls has brought on additional local support to make their programs go above and beyond."

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency recognized River Falls as a Green Power Community, a distinction for municipalities that purchase a certain percentage of renewable energy.

Only 20 other municipalities share the distinction, and River Falls is the only one in the Midwest. About 15 percent of its power comes from renewable energy sources like biogas, solar, wind and hydroelectric.

Ricardo Lopez can be reached at 651-228-5480.

-----

To see more of the Pioneer Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.twincities.com.

Copyright (c) 2010, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

(c) 2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services  To subscribe or visit go to:  www.mcclatchy.com/