A version of this article was previously published through Climate Generation.
by Bryan Wood, Executive Director of Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Sandstone, Minnesota
Anything worth achieving is hard. It requires dedication, focus, and perseverance — and sometimes a little luck. Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center’s clean energy focus began 20 years ago. Yet, it wasn’t until last fall with the addition of a 716 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic system that we reached our goal of producing 100% of our electricity onsite through renewable sources.
At our core, we believe it is our responsibility to model sustainable environmental practices for others to learn from. We strive to create environmental ripple marks, and we achieve that through our mission of instilling a connection and commitment to the environment in people of all communities through experiential learning.
The path down our clean energy focus began in 2004, when we secured a federal Housing & Urban Development grant to install a 65-ton geothermal ground-source heat pump system to cool and heat our two main buildings. This eliminated our usage of propane to heat the two buildings, and shifted our energy needs to run the heat pumps on electricity. With the realization that our overall energy usage was lower, but our electricity needs were now higher, we sought out adding renewable energy sources to produce the electricity we used.
From 2005 to 2015, we were successful in obtaining grants and federal appropriations to add over 39 kilowatts (kW) of solar photovoltaic arrays to supply about 20% of our electricity needs. During that time, we also added 29 solar hot water panels for domestic use in heating the water used for our dormitory showers and sinks, and our commercial kitchen, made a campus-wide LED lighting upgrade, added blown cellulose insulation to improve the R-value of our buildings, and upgraded our HVAC control systems. But to cover the remaining 300,000 kilowatt hours of electricity we were still using annually, we knew we needed to do something big to achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.
Charting a financial path forward
In 2019, we reached out to a solar company to help us achieve that goal. Over the next several months, I worked with them on a plan of adding 248 kW of solar photovoltaic arrays that would produce the kilowatts needed to cover our annual energy usage. We worked with our local bank to secure terms for a loan that would finance the system, and met with our local electric cooperative, East Central Energy, about how this could work.
However, this proposed system would put us well over 40 kW, the threshold in Minnesota for net-metering, which credits solar array owners for the electricity they add to the grid. Coming to the realization that this proposal wouldn’t allow for net metering meant ultimately it wouldn’t work economically for Osprey Wilds, as we would have been reliant on the net-metered income for the months we overproduced to cover the project’s loan expenses. It was a learning process, and whetted my appetite to see if there was another way we could collaborate with East Central Energy to achieve our energy goals and theirs.
Ideas of collaboration were put on hold due to the pandemic. Then, in 2022 we resumed conversations with East Central Energy and their CEO Justin Jahnz to see what might be possible. Those talks led to an idea: a three-party power purchase agreement among Osprey Wilds, East Central Energy, and a solar provider, with the solar provider owning and operating the system on Osprey Wilds property and selling the electricity to East Central Energy — who then would sell it to Osprey Wilds.
For it to work, we needed a solar provider to sell the solar electricity at rates that would make financial sense for East Central Energy to purchase, while still being high enough that it was profitable for the solar provider — yet also low enough that Osprey Wilds could afford the electricity from East Central Energy. In other words, it would require threading a needle to find financial terms that could work for all parties.
Finding the right solar provider
During this time period, Osprey Wilds also completed a conservation easement that permanently protects over 460 acres of our campus. Throughout this process, I wanted to leave the ability to add a large solar photovoltaic system. For an optimal solar capacity location, as well as a visually strong first impression, we landed on a three-acre exclusion in our tallgrass prairie, noticeable as soon as you pull into Osprey Wilds’ driveway. The exclusion was large enough for a 250 kW system, capable of supplying all of our electricity needs.
But as we began working with East Central Energy on the request for proposal (RFP) for the solar project at Osprey Wilds, I learned that this was a small space to work with, as providers would be interested in a larger system to reach the economies of scale necessary to lower the cost of the project. Examining the size of the exclusion, it was determined that the largest a system could be was approximately 700 kW. While this seemed very large to me, many commercial solar installers are looking at systems with production levels two to ten times that size to make projects financially viable.
In the spring of 2023, we received proposals from multiple solar companies. Somewhat predictably, all the numbers were far higher than what we could afford. With that deflating realization, we talked openly with the company that had been the closest in their proposal, Soltek, Inc., about our desire to find a way with this project. We shared the benefits we saw for their company to be able to partner with East Central Energy and an environmental learning center that hosts and educates thousands of participants each year, and the impact they could have on those individuals with this inspiring project. Shawn Markham, Soltek’s CEO, took that passion of ours to heart, and over the ensuing months kept trying to find ways to reduce the cost of the project.
Industry shifts make the dream possible
In March of 2024, I got a message from Shawn that we should talk. Conditions had shifted dramatically within the solar industry in the past 12 months. Changes made by the California Public Utilities Commission were reducing the daytime compensation for rooftop solar for homeowners by about 75%, making it much less affordable for individuals to add solar. As a result, the solar industry was struggling. Shawn now had access to materials and equipment that he could get for half the price he could a year prior, dramatically lowering the cost of the proposed Osprey Wilds system. With the help of a Rural Energy in America Program grant through the USDA, he could offer a rate that fit for East Central Energy and Osprey Wilds. The solar dream was going to happen!
Soon materials and panels were being delivered to Osprey Wilds, and all three parties worked on crafting power purchase and land lease agreements for project terms to become official. The end result would be a win-win-win. Soltek would own and operate the system, selling affordable electricity to East Central Energy, while creating a 30-year source of guaranteed income. East Central Energy would expand their ability to purchase affordable, clean, and locally sourced electricity for their members. Lastly, Osprey Wilds would achieve its carbon goals, and save money with favorable electricity rates secured for the next 30 years.
Installation of the eventual 716 kW prairie solar garden began late July and was completed in just three weeks. East Central Energy is currently in the final stages of installing their transfer station next to the system, which will feed into their phase three line only a few hundred feet away. The system went live in October and will produce 1,000,000 kWh (1,000 megawatt hours) annually, more than three times Osprey Wilds’ current electricity demands. The large production level of the system sets us up for future campus expansions that can remain carbon neutral. In the meantime, the majority of the generated electricity goes to our neighbors, providing them with clean, locally produced electricity at no increased expense to them.
The prairie solar garden is nestled within prairie grasses and wildflowers, allowing native ecosystems to coincide with energy production. In addition, the solar garden is bordered by a woven wire fence perimeter, which will allow us to partner with local sheep producers to add pastured livestock and agriculture into the mix, creating three sustainable land uses simultaneously.
Dreaming big
There were many times I thought that this project was merely a pipedream, but achievement comes from vision, and vision comes from having a dream. So allow yourself to dream, and dream big. Several years back, I knew our goal – to produce 100% of our energy needs from onsite clean energy. I didn’t know how we’d get there, but I knew for anything to happen, I needed to try.
To other organizational leaders: I encourage you to deepen your relationship with your local utility provider. Invite them out and show them what you do, and allow them the opportunity to be inspired by the important work you do, and begin a dialogue around what might be possible for your energy goals. Perhaps there are ways to make a project happen that you aren’t aware of through funding opportunities, or power purchase agreements. This project worked because we had put in the groundwork with our utility, and they understood our values, and why this was important to us, and what we hoped to achieve. Their CEO told us that that made all the difference for them to make this work for us as one of their members. They were willing to write the RFPs for the project, and review them with us, and while we didn’t know it, we had discovered our solar partner in Soltek, who came through when opportunities arose in the solar landscape. All three organizations were ready. So much of life is timing, and making your own luck. We’ve all heard that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. So prepare for when the time presents itself, and take the shot.
This project is a tangible example of what can happen when you work with others — you are able to achieve something greater than you could on your own. A rising tide lifts all boats, and it is our hope that this project demonstrates our commitment to the planet, and that it inspires others to pursue ways they can reduce their carbon footprint and climate change impact. We share a beautiful planet, one of unimaginable beauty that is worth fighting for. When you love something, you take care of it, and at Osprey Wilds, this prairie solar garden is our latest pledge to the Earth that we are doing what we can to take care of it.
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