MINOCQUA, Wis. (WXPR) — A Madison solar company wants to put 8,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof of the Lakeland Union High School and sell the electricity they generate back to the district. On Wednesday, the budget committee reviewed SunPeak’s proposal, which could provide a quarter of the district’s annual electrical needs. The district wouldn’t be charged for the equipment and installation. The district would pay 8 cents per kilowatt hours of energy, 16 percent less than the district’s current rate. SunPeak claims the district would save $7,400 in the first year of operation, with savings increasing over time. Committee member Joe Fahrenbach has some doubts. “I personally think it’s a long shot. The panels are so big and they are so inefficient. It’s an acre’s worth of panels to generate 25 percent of our energy usage. And one and half cents on a kilowatt hour sounds like . . . I mean we are really leasing our roof to them is what we’re doing.” Committee members will research the proposal before making a recommendation to the full board.
by Ken Krall, WXPR
