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Ashland to produce solar power Matching grant allows city to start 'grand experiment' BY DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- With a kick start from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Ashland will become the second city in the nation to allow residents to buy and sell the solar power they generate. "It has the potential to help move us on the path of a clean and sustainable energy future that doesn't have the adverse environmental impacts of water, air and land pollution," said Tom Starrs, an independent energy consultant in Washington state with the Renewable Northwest Project. "We won't get there today or tomorrow, but programs like the Ashland solar project are the steps we need to take to move in that direction." Starrs helped the city put together the "Solar Ashland" proposal that won the grant. The project will combine city money, private investment and environmental grants to put solar photovoltaic power units on buildings and eventually homes. The solar panels will generate electricity that will go into the city's electric grid. Most of the power on the grid is purchased from conventional sources, which include hydroelectric power produced by dams, the burning of fossil fuel and nuclear power. After the solar panels are in place, residents of Ashland will be able to decide if they want to pay more on their electric bills to buy the solar energy. The purchases will allow more solar panels to be developed. The city will in turn pay the entities that are producing the solar power for their contributions. The city has been planning the project for more than a year, but Thursday the planning went into high gear when Bonneville announced it was giving the city a two-to-one matching grant of up to $62,500. Although the system has been used to develop renewable energy sources in other countries, the only other city in the nation with a similar program is Aspen, Colo. "Eventually we could have most of our power generated here in the city with very little environmental cost," said Dick Wanderscheid, Ashland's director of administrative services. In the first phase of the plan, the city will seek out larger institutions interested in setting up the solar panels on their buildings, Wanderscheid said. But, it's not a cheap proposition. The city is hoping the institutions will install $50,000 panels that will generate about the amount of electricity used to power a residential home. Also, solar power costs about 10 times more than conventional sources of electricity to produce. Wanderscheid said the participating institutions would be expected to pay about half the cost of the panels, with the city and grant kicking in the rest. Then the city will pay the institution for the electricity generated at a rate higher than paid for conventional power. Wanderscheid said the institutions should recoup their investments within 15 years. If Ashland residents respond by signing up to help pay for solar power -- probably about $4 a month -- the program will expand to individual homes. Wanderscheid said it's possible the city will offer zero-interest loans to help homeowners install the panels on their roofs. The city budgeted $50,000 this year for Solar Ashland. "This is a grand experiment and it will rely on how many citizens of Ashland will spend 4, 8, and 12 bucks a month for solar resources," Wanderscheid said. "It's certainly not an economic decision -- but it demonstrates a commitment to solar energy and the environment." The grant making the project possible was one of three given out Thursday by the nonprofit Bonneville Environmental Foundation -- a n independent foundation set up to promote new renewable energy projects and watershed restoration. The other two grants went to watershed restoration projects in the McKenzie River Basin and the Chinook River in southwestern Washington. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA