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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Area businesses turn to solar and find help is available

Tom Klein
Posted 9/11/14

REGIONAL – Gary Coyer, who owns Cabin O’ Pines Resort on Pelican Lake, had been searching for ways to make his business more green and to save on energy.

He found his solution through an …

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Area businesses turn to solar and find help is available

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REGIONAL – Gary Coyer, who owns Cabin O’ Pines Resort on Pelican Lake, had been searching for ways to make his business more green and to save on energy.

He found his solution through an energy program offered through the Arrowhead Economic Development Agency and Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board.

The program provides assistance to businesses for energy upgrades, providing work for area contractors as well as helping businesses improve their energy efficiency.

Coyer’s project is unique because it’s the first resort to invest in a renewable energy source such as solar power.

An array of 48 panels, stretching 66 by 12 feet, was installed by local contractor Purdy Electric on the north side of the field located on the south end of the resort property. The system feeds power back into the grid, and reports back exactly how many pounds of hydrocarbons are being saved from entering the atmosphere every day.

The system, which became operational this summer, can accommodate up to about a third of the resort’s power needs, according to Conyer.

“We’ve actually been looking at doing something like this for three years,” said Coyer. “When the AEOA teamed up with IRRRB to offer this program we jumped at the chance.”

Vince Meyer, housing and energy conservation inspector for the AEOA, said the program allows businesses, such as Cabin O’ Pines, to make investments in energy improvements they may not otherwise be able to afford.

“This project cost just under $60,000 and would have had a 49-year estimated payback without the grant and tax rebate that Gary qualified for,” said Meyer. The $20,000 grant from the IRRRB reduced that payback period to 33 years while the estimated tax rebate of $17,985 will shave another 15 years off the payback period, Meyer said.

Coyer said plans call for eventually expanding the campground at the resort and using the solar panels to supply all power to campground.

Meyer said the energy program has proven to be extremely popular. The program started as a pilot project in Hibbing where 29 applications were received and 13 projects funded.

In that initial year, the IRRRB invested $250,000 while businesses kicked in $429,705. Rebates for seven projects totaled $7,187.

The energy savings generated included 405,510 kilowatt hours saved annually, 19,100 therms saved annually and 47,000 pounds of steam saved annually.

Lisa Samsa of Shubat Transportation, which benefitted from the pilot program, said the program allowed the business to make “much-needed repairs that will be a great improvement to the look as well as the efficiency of our building.”

Dave Lamkin, property manager for the US Bank, in Hibbing,said their project would not have been possible without the involvement of AEOA and the IRRRB because of the lengthy payback period.

The program was expanded in fiscal year 2014 to cover the IRRRB’s taconite assistance area. Sixty-six applications were received and 34 projects funded. As a result of projects undertaken in that fiscal year, 654,640 kilowatt hours were saved annually and 19,110 therms were saved.

The Laundry Room in Ely was one of the grant recipients and owner Rebecca Spengler praised the initiative.

“When a business can withstand the seasonability of Ely by lowering overhead costs, we can begin to imagine how greater energy infrastructure changes through a district heating system and accompanying energy conservation measures can indeed secure our outpost at the end of the road,” she stated.

In the current fiscal year, the program’s popularity has soared. AEOA has received 32 funding requests in addition to those carried over from fiscal year 2014. Thus far, eight projects have been funded and three completed.

Other projects funded locally through the program include Pehrson’s Lodge on Lake Vermilion and Pattenn’s Cafe in Orr. Pehrson’s got funds to install a new heating and cooling system for 15 of its units while Pattenn’s got a grant for new and more energy-efficient windows and doors.