RIB MOUNTAIN, Wis. (WSAW) – Since the end of 2021 the Village of Rib Mountain began work on a 32-kilowatt solar panel project. With 71 roof-mounted solar panels installed, Director of Community Development Jared Grande feels gratified to see their idea finally come to fruition.
“It’s been something that has been on the minds of the board here,” Grande said. “And there was some federal stuff that was passed that gave some rebates, even for government entities like ourselves.”
The idea took plenty of hard work, collaborating with Olson Solar Energy to get the job done.
“The ironic thing is that we actually selected them without knowing they were going to be moving in here to Rib Mountain,” Grande added. “So it just kind of worked out that way. They did a lot of the work, obviously.”
With the project finally installed, Grande and the village are looking forward to just how much they’ll save and sustain.
“We’re estimating about 78%, I think roughly, that it could maybe reduce for our usage coming through solars,” Grande said. “So there’s a good amount there that we’re hoping to produce from that based on some of the estimations that we have.”
All coming at no cost to you.
“We utilize 100% of this project through ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding, and so there was no impact to levy on this. In that case, you can think of taxpayers, no impact to them,” Grande added.
The Village is hoping to use its project to inspire others to become solar as well.
“Everybody’s situation’s a little bit different, but I think with a lot of us municipalities, these are buildings or locations that aren’t going to be moving that often,” Grande said.
To view more info on the solar panels and keep track of their progress, click here.
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