Valdosta receives APWA award for 'Powering up with Solar' project
The City of Valdosta has fully embraced technology, innovation, and is using the South Georgia sun to make smart energy decisions. At the July 26, Georgia Chapter American Public Works Association Awards Ceremony, Valdosta received the Georgia Chapter Small Cities/Rural Communities Structures Project of the Year Award for our 'Powering up with Solar' project.
Valdosta, located on 37 square miles in South Georgia, has progressively pursued renewable energy options since the early 2000s. What started out as a general discussion with the bright minds at Hannah Solar about Valdosta's move into the solar energy arena, eventually led Valdosta leaders to tap into the growing industry as a solution for generating capital assets from land that cannot be otherwise developed. City-owned property that has no higher use or value and that generates no tax revenue—such as land adjacent to a wastewater treatment plant, inert landfill, and state prison—have since been put to a more powerful use. The innovative city now has nine solar photovoltaic installations, seven that were installed between November 2016 and December 2017 under the 2015-2016 Georgia Power Advance Solar Initiative (GPASI) and all built at no cost to taxpayers.
Over 35 acres of otherwise undevelopable land is now producing 6.3 MW of power, enough electricity to power up to 6,300 homes, depending on weather conditions. The projects collectively represent approximately $9,850,000 capital investment in equipment and construction, and Valdosta's demonstrated commitment to environmental and financial responsibility by pursuing the construction of these solar installations which have received the attention of others.
The power generated from solar installations completed in 2010 and in 2013 is placed on the electric utility grid in exchange for approximately $650,000 in land lease payments over 30 years. But when Valdosta leaders decided to expand their solar installations under the 2015-2016 GPASI, they wanted more than just lease payments for the land--they wanted power.
"This is not just a resource for the City of Valdosta but surrounding communities as well. When electricity flows onto the grid at seven of these solar sites, it doesn't just benefit Valdosta. Energy produced goes onto the grid and flows where the energy is needed by the electric company. Therefore, the energy that is created in the South Georgia sun can be used by our neighboring counties," said Valdosta Mayor, John Gayle.
In 2016-2017, Valdosta city leaders pursued the construction of additional solar installations—again, on city-owned land with no higher or better use—that would directly reduce the electric utility costs at its Mud Creek and Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plants. Working with Hannah Solar, they crafted an innovative strategy that would continue to place solar-generated power on the electric grid. However, in lieu of approximately $415,000 of lease payments, Hannah Solar constructed two city-owned solar capital assets located at the two wastewater treatment plants that now produce a combined 47,7750 kWh that directly offsets the city's electric bill in those locations by approximately $34,935 annually, which would have otherwise been paid to electric utility companies.
"Valdosta is a trendsetter in smart energy programs. The commitment of our city leaders demonstrates their environmental responsibility of reducing the city's carbon footprint by offsetting carbon-based energy and embracing the most abundant source of energy on the Earth," said City Manager Mark Barber. "The smart energy decisions being made by Valdosta have fully embraced technology and innovation to benefit our citizens and our community's future – as well as serves as a model for other communities to follow."
The City of Valdosta been recognized in recent years by private solar industry professionals as the leading municipality in the southeast part of the country, receiving the 2014 Smart Energy Municipality of the Year from the Technology Association of Georgia, and now this 2018 Georgia Chapter Small Cities/Rural Communities Structures Project of the Year Award.