From the Triangle Business Journal, Oct 28, 2016, 5:15pm EDT
The city of Raleigh plans to lease more than 50 acres of land for a solar farm – more than
quintupling the city’s solar portfolio, from 2.2 megawatts to 15.2 megawatts. And the power, atleast initially, would be sold to Charlotte-based Duke Energy.
While Kenny Waldroup, assistant director of public utilities with the city, points out that the
plan is good for the environment, it really boils down to good business, he says. He says a typical
agriculture lease of the site is $44 per acre, or just more than $2,300 for the entire parcel.
The solar farm would be implemented along a section of land near the Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility, located south of Old Baucom Road and west of Mial Plantation Road. And, while the request for proposals went out last year, discussions about deploying solar at the site have been ongoing for several years, Waldroup says.
PVN Management, the firm tapped to develop the property, would pay city coffers significantly more.
“Once the lease terms are enacted, it will result in $87,500 for all 53 acres per year, with a 1.5
percent escalator,” he explains, adding that there’s also an option in the future to take the
facility off the grid. The nearby wastewater treatment plant uses between 6 and 8 megawatts of
power each year. With the option,the city could help power that facility with the solar arrays.Lauren K. Ohnesorge
Staff Writer
Triangle Business Journal
