Trustees apaprove letter of support for solar energy

The Lake Township trustees Tuesday approved a letter supporting the intent of the Northwest Ohio Aggregation Coalition to include solar energy into the electric aggregation.
The coalition supplier is Energy Harbor with a rate of 4.57 cents per kilowatt hour through May 2022.
The deadline for residents of the coalition members to opt out is Sept. 29, 2020.
The coalition includes the cities of Maumee, Northwood, Oregon, Perrysburg, Rossford, Sylvania, Toledo and Waterville; the villages of Holland and Ottawa Hills, and Lake and Perrysburg townships and the Lucas County commissioners representing the unincorporated areas of the county.
In February, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio hosted an energy summit where it introduced its solar power initiative.
Palmer Energy, a consulting firm for NOAC and the commissioners association on energy aggregation, provided data on the benefits of behind-the-meter and the economy of scale a large-scale solar array might offer in Ohio.
The firm’s research indicates Ohio based large-scale projects may offer a low enough cost per kWh without a rate escalator to make them competitive.
The letter of intent signed by the Lake Township trustees states they would in good faith consider and negotiate the purchase of energy from a utility scale photovoltaic solar facility upon the recommendation of Palmer Energy if the firm identifies an opportunity at or below $41 per mWh.
In other business, the trustees agreed to apply for grants from the Wood County Park District to pay for seven commercial garbage containers and eight six-foot aluminum benches for sports teams. Those items would be covered by a grant in the $5,000 and over category.
In the under $5,000 category, the township is applying for a grant to pay for a playground “discovery cave.”