MONTE VISTA— Subscribing to a solar garden project in Alamosa will save the city of Monte Vista $323,000 over a 20-year period and offset 16,000 tons of CO2 the city council learned on Thursday, Sept. 19.
John Hereford of Oakleaf Energy presented a proposal to the council encouraging their participation in a solar garden project. The solar garden is being built in Alamosa on Highway 285 and Coop Road 8. “Solar gardens are the simplest ways to participate in solar. Sustainability is an objective for a lot of our partners and subscribers. We’re not on your land; we’re not on your roof; it’s strictly a financial transaction. It’s a way to save money on your utility bill and manage your expenses,” said Hereford.
“You will receive— on the city’s monthly bill— a credit for the number of kilowatt hours that you would subscribe to... Once you received the credit you would then pay the solar garden developer a subscription payment.”
Construction on the garden is expected to commence in the first and second quarters of 2018.
After his presentation Hereford asked if the council had any questions. “These credits are just based on usage and not on demand?” asked councilman Jason Lorenz.
“The subscription agreement is based on the percentage of our garden that you would subscribe to. In this case you would be eligible at 20 percent... One of the reasons solar garden is a better deal than prior programs is the bill credit is based on the entire tariff,” replied Hererford.
Lorenz continued to ask when any savings actually kicked in and if there was any effect on demand charge. Hereford responded they did expect savings to grow and whether or not there was an effect on demand charges was a hotly debated topic.
Mayor Debbie Garcia stated that City Manager Forrest Neuerburg had done a fiscal analysis and found it to be financially beneficial and that City Attorney Karen Lintott had reviewed the agreements and had no objection.
The council voted 4-1, with Lorenz being the nay vote, to instruct the city manager to enter into further negotiations on the subject.

Resolution 11-2017
A related resolution was also passed later in the meeting with Lorenz again being the nay vote. Resolution 11-2017 offers support to Grid Alternatives Colorado to submit an application to Xcel Energy for a potential community solar project to benefit low-income households in the city of Monte Vista. The resolution recognizes that a solar project can provide clean locally-sourced energy for consumption by low income households and create solar workforce development opportunities.