A near-capacity crowd turned out for a special meeting last night to discuss a potential solar farm in Fredonia.

 

The City Commission is gathering public input on building the two-megawatt farm just east of the Wilson County Sheriff's office. Fredonia Mayor Bob McKenney says the city has been looking for ways to minimize paying for peak energy, which can be expensive.

 

The city has a contract to buy base power all the time, and when demand exceeds that base, peak power must be purchased from the open market. The idea with the solar farm is to cover some of that peak load and give the city more diverse power generation options.

 

The city hopes to take advantage of a federal program which may pay 50 to 60 percent of the cost. According to City Administrator Wesley Young, the city's estimated portion is $4.192 million, which will be paid through the fuel adjustment portion of customers' bills over 18 years.

 

Commissioner Bill Jones wrapped up the meeting saying he's glad to see some planning for the future.

 

The commission will vote on the farm during their next meeting on December 7^th.