TOLEDO, Ohio — In an effort to reduce electricity costs over the long-term for Toledo residents and reduce carbon emissions, the Kapszukiewicz administration will proceed with a plan to buy a portion of electricity from a proposed solar array in a joint venture with multiple other Ohio communities.
On Wednesday, Toledo City Council authorized Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz to execute a letter of intent with Palmer Energy Company, Inc. to request for proposal to find a vendor for the project.
The administration hopes to combine the city's electricity requirements with dozens of municipalities and counties across the state to secure the best price for green energy.
The media release sent Wednesday outlines that the power purchase agreement would account for about 25 percent of the city's anticipated requirements for its facilities and governmental aggregation participants over a 20-year period at a fixed price.
The remaining 75 percent would come from the power grid as it does now, combined with the planned solar array's production.
“This is the kind of green energy step all cities should be taking,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said in the media release. “This is the first step in a transitional process and Toledo plans to include our facilities and governmental aggregation participants in the request for proposal process for this utility-scale solar array. Solar energy is more efficient each year and this is a technology we need to fully embrace.”
The letter of intent has been signed by 59 other communities. The location of the solar array, estimated to require about 2,000 acres, has not yet been determined.
There will be no upfront investment required for the city of Toledo.
