Colorado Fire Station Saves Money with Solar Panels

In 2021, the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District in Bayfield, Colorado installed solar panels on three of its 11 buildings. The driving force behind the installation was reducing the electricity bill and “doing our part for green energy” notes Bruce Evans, the district’s fire chief.

In 2022 – the first full year everything was operational and tracked – the district saved $15,000 on its La Plata Electric Association power bill and received credit for April 2023 when it had no power bill, notes Evans.

“April is the month that the electric co-op applied additional once-a-year credit for excess power generation.  This made the savings $19,000,” says Evans. “They credit individual meters only, so only three of our eleven.  Then they award a rebate at a lower kilowatt rate once a year.  Hence no bill for April and 89 dollars remaining.”

The district’s installation process includes three months of negotiation and board approval, a month to wait for the panels, and then installation and testing, Evans says.

 The district is paying Shaw Solar of Durango $15,528 for six years before it will own the panels and equipment outright.

 “The excess power is still credited to us,” Evans says. “In year seven, we purchase the remaining value at a depreciated rate.”

The excess energy created by the three solar arrays results in an annual rebate check from LPEA, which credits only the meters which produce excess energy to the exclusion of the seven other stations.

While the installation is on three of the district’s 11 buildings, there are no plans to extend their use on the other buildings although a new fire station that is being planned will have solar, Evans says.

 “Net aggregate metering continues to make this an accounting issue,” he adds. “For example, we have 11 meters on one account.  One dramatically overproduces and we would like to apply its surplus to our other building, yet that is prohibited.  Two of our other buildings would be perfect for solar; however, they have very low power demands.”

The district has sought a better deal with the La Plata Electric Association (LPEA. Under the current agreement, the system is generating enough power to exceed the district’s power consumption, but due to the metering rules, the credits are only applied to stations with panels.

In another type of arrangement, LPEA would allow for aggregate net metering for nonprofits so that it can combine its 10 fire station meters to offset ones without solar panels.

While many fire-rescue districts are now encompassing electric vehicles into their fleets, Evans says that in terms of adding an EV truck to the fleet for which the charging infrastructure could be powered by solar, is unaffordable.

“It would be a quarter of our entire budget,” he says adding there is not a shop close enough to do necessary work on it.

The solar array on the district’s administration building is supplying enough energy to support an adjacent electrical vehicle charging station which brings in extra revenue. The station was paid for with grant money.

Evans says the district obtained a $206,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All to lease a Ford F150 Lightning electric pick-up truck that will be charged on-site.

Evan’s advice to those districts considering a similar solar project is to not be oversold on panels.

“Match the panels to the common demand,” he says. “Many put on too many panels and you pay for the physical plant, but lose the extra that is above and beyond.”