Officials with the city of Gering are looking forward to the production of renewable energy for the community early next year.
An 8-acre site on the eastern edge of the community will house a solar energy project by Sandhills Energy, producing up to one megawatt of electricity for the city for 25 years, with an option for two five-year extensions.
City Administrator Pat Heath said with a recently approved environmental review, the nearly two-year plan is becoming reality. “They’re putting up fencing right now, and then they’re starting to lay out some of the hardware that’ll hold the solar panels,” said Heath. “They’re goal is to be done by December, or the end of December, and have it operating shortly thereafter.”
Sandhills Energy will sell the power produced to the city at a rate of 3.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is less than the city’s wholesale energy costs, with an annual price increase of one-half of one percent.
Heath says the project will add to the city’s renewable energy portfolio, which already includes some of the power produced by Sandhills Energy through the Kimball wind farm.
