Canfield Twp. will accept bids on windmill with solar panels

By Elise Franco

CANFIELD — The township wants to “go green” in a big way to help reduce energy and save money.

Trustee Bill Reese said the township is taking bids on a windmill- and-solar generator that will be placed on the park-land property on Herbert Road. He said so far, five contractors have picked up bid packets, and the lowest bidder will be chosen by mid-November.

“We’re asking for one windmill with solar panels, like the ones at Western Reserve High School,” Reese said. “It’s going to make a big dent in electric costs over its 35-year lifespan.”

Reese said the generator, which is estimated to cost between $160,000 and $200,000, could reduce the township’s electric cost by 80 percent. He said it will produce power even when the township is not operating on the weekends and holidays, which will eventually put money back into the township’s pocket.

“That power will go back to [Ohio] Edison, and they will give us credit,” he said. “Eventually, our cost could be virtually zero.”

Reese said the cost to install the system is nothing compared with its benefits.

“The payback is 71‚Ñ2 to eight years before we’re back to even,” he said. “Even on a cloudy day, the solar power still works, and it’s awfully rare to have a day here with zero sun and zero wind.”

Reese said he expects the project to garner positive responses.

But one man who said he needs more information is longtime resident Dan Bienko.

Bienko, 71, said other township issues need to be resolved before the windmill is installed.

“I think it’s premature until we decide where the new township hall is going,” he said.

The trustees have proposed a $1.2 million administration building on the park land property, but Reese said the board won’t finalize plans for the building until next year.

Bienko said the trustees haven’t offered enough information on the windmill project and have moved forward without any real input from residents.

“We were told the township did some studies on this,” he said. “I asked all these questions [about the study] that were never answered.”

Bienko said he’s not necessarily against the plan, but he wants to see data about the cost effectiveness of the windmill.

Reese said the township has been looking into this type of technology for about two years and has talked to many residents who think the windmill is a good idea. He said two residents asked how they could get the same technology on their personal property.

Other residents at Tuesday’s trustee meeting chose not to comment on the issue until they had more information.

Reese said they expect the installation to be complete by spring 2010. Bienko said that isn’t a viable request, however.

“We haven’t been involved in this at all,” he said. “They want to award the bid in November, but we don’t know who will be in office in January and [we’re] stuck with this.”

Reese said the board is taking bids now because grant money is available to fund up to 60 percent of the cost.

“We want to award the project to the low bidder so we can apply for grants before the money has dried up,” he added.

efranco@vindy.com