Next week, the Centre County Commissioners will consider moving forward on a 1.2 MW solar array. There is some concern that they may not. They need to know that we, the people of Centre County, want a solar future. The agenda item is as follows.
1. Commissioners – Solar energy power service agreement with Centre County Solar Partners, LLC. for the purpose of constructing, installing, operating, maintaining, replacing, and repairing and approximate 1,196kW of solar photovoltaic electric generation system. The agreement is for a period of 25 years. The cost includes, an advance contract service payment of $600,000, annual service payments of $101,000 for years 1 through 5, and an early termination fee of $567,411 in year six to purchase the solar photovoltaic electric generation system. The total cost is $1,672,411 – Dept. 971.
Action: Add the agreement with Centre County Solar Partners, LLC to nextweek’s Consent Agenda.
We need knowledgeable people to testify at the Centre County Commissioners meeting, Tuesday, May 28, 10am, at the Willowbank Building in Bellefonte. The presentation must be under 5 minutes, shorter may be better, and should be economically or politically persuasive. The Commissioners will vote to move it to the next meeting’s consent agenda for final passage.
Since I will be traveling, I have submitted the following comment to the commissioners via email. Feel free to pass it on, copy it, use parts of it, or whatever else.
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Dear County Commissioners (cc: Margaret Gray),
I want to thank you for your service to Centre County. As you may know, the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors passed a Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions Resolution two years ago. My outreach to you today comes from my position on the board and rooted in that Resolution. I do not, however, speak for the board as we have not deliberated on the matter.
Solar power is the present and the future of the world, the nation, our state, and our region. It does good for our pocket books, for our land, and for the climate. It is, hands down, the most popular form of energy in the United States with 89% of people favoring its expansion according to Pew Research. In fact, it is more than twice as popular as natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. People know what’s good for them and they are looking to you to lead us to realizing a solar future.
As you also know, climate change is a clear and present danger. Despite the loud voices of a handful of so-called skeptics, it is overwhelmingly clear that humans have wrapped the Earth in a thicker layer of greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels, deforesting land, and other practices. This amplified greenhouse effect has extended and intensified the wildfire season, driven droughts, and turned up the volume on storms as big as Hurricanes Harvey and Maria and thunderstorm systems like those that caused millions of dollars of damage to the County in fall 2016. To slow down warming and prevent damages, we need to invest in renewable carbon-free energy today. And a time will come, perhaps from Pennsylvania regulation, that will price carbon, drive up fossil fuel prices, and the market will force renewable energy development.
Every economist and risk-wise policy maker worth their salt says we should put a price on carbon. These, by the way, are not left wingers. They include Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of Management and Budget, George W Bush’s Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, and many others. Such policies are live in the Commonwealth right now.
About 6 weeks ago, the DEP accepted and decided to move forward on the consideration of a cap-and-trade system that would price carbon at $11/ton of CO2. The Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed that petition. Over the coming three decades the cap would come down and the price will go up. Based on the size of your array, if the cap and trade comes to pass, your electricity bill for the prison alone will go up about $9000 in the first year and $10,500 by year five. That doesn’t include inflation. Let’s not be forced into the choice by inaction now. Let’s act now to do the best we can.
Ultimately, this isn’t only about money. This project, stands for something larger than ourselves. It stands for the health and well-being of our region, of the Commonwealth, and the world we live in. You have the opportunity to signal to your citizens who know this is the right thing to do, who want it to happen, and to a world that needs it to happen. You have the chance to be energy leaders, to be climate leaders.
I look forward to you voting this up.
Peter Buckland
Ferguson Township Board
Ward 2 Supervisor
Peter Walks for Democracy 