Sustainability and Energy Action Plan

IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS PASS SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY ACTION PLAN BE-6-2 LARGER MERLIN FIELD IMPACT ON ENERGY COSTS If funding can be secured to upgrade the substation at this location102, the potential cost savings resulting from solar generation would dwarf the impact of all other projects.103 Due to both the high up -front investment this project requires, and the immense impact this project alone would have104, this larger Merlin solar field was not included in the model scenario used for benchmarking and assessing goal feasibility. However, the merit of this project does warrant its inclusion as a potential alternative scenario. While a more thorough assessment of cost and energy generation potential would certainly be necessary, preliminary numbers suggest that despite its high cost, it is likely this project could pay for itself within the first five years of its implementation.105 89106 107