County Government Charts Big Expansion of Solar Power

New Marcia P. Coggs building being constructed and a solar array at 1600 E. College Ave. Photos by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Board would like to go big on solar power.

Since December last year, supervisors have chased the possibility of outfitting the county’s new Human Services building with enough solar panels to power it. The $42 million building is being built at 1230 W. Cherry St. and will replace the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center, which is located two blocks south at 1220 W. Vliet St.

As the idea has worked through the legislative process, it has inspired additional legislation seeking the development of a comprehensive countywide strategy for implementing solar power infrastructure.

In March, supervisors learned that a solar array on both the building and in the parking lot were feasible and that it would cost the county approximately $2 to $3 million to develop. Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson, who authored the legislation tasking county officials to explore the project, offered another resolution this month setting up the county to potentially include the project in the 2025 budget.

“The county gets less than 1% of its energy needs met by renewables. That’s pretty embarrassing,” said Sup. Steven Shea, a co-sponsor of Nicholson’s legislation.

The solar installation county officials have contemplated would involve building a canopy structure over parking stalls capable of holding 27,200 square feet of high-efficiency solar panels, along with a 3,200 square foot array on the rooftop of the building.

The resolution asks the county administration “to provide an estimated project cost and prepare a recommendation identifying funding sources to allow the installation of expanded solar photovoltaic system(s) at the new Coggs Building Project parking lot.”

County officials have indicated there may be opportunities for funding, or solar energy credits from the federal government. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may be one such source, Stuart Carron, director of facilities management, told supervisors on the Committee on Community, Environment and Economic Development.

It was unanimously passed by the county board at their meeting Thursday. But not before an amendment, authored by Sup. Shawn Rolland, expanded the scope of the county’s planning for solar energy. The resolution now also requests a “comprehensive solar energy strategy” for the government, to “position Milwaukee County as a leader in sustainable energy, driving significant progress toward a carbon-neutral future.”

“It’s really just asking for a larger strategic plan related to solar energy,” Rolland said at the board meeting.

The resolution now asks county officials for potential locations, a framework for estimating the return on investment for solar projects and comparison of solar opportunities based their impact, cost-effectiveness and potential to assist with the county’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

County staff have been engaged for several years in a project assessing the county’s energy needs and planning for a transition to sources that make the government carbon neutral by 2050.

The full solar strategy will undoubtedly take longer to develop, but the a plan for the Coggs building array should be ready by September this year and in time for the 2025 budget process this fall.

As first reported by Urban Milwaukee in February, the City of Milwaukee is partnering with We Energies on two new solar installations to add to its existing arrays. The latest arrays will allow the city to meet a goal of generating 25% of its electricity via renewable sources by 2025.

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