Grand Island Utilities Approved for $116K Department of Energy Grant
Grand Island, Neb. — The U.S. Department of Energy has approved the Grand Island Utilities Department for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) to the tune of $116,440.
The funds will be used to cover the cost of a five-year plan with Nelnet for both the software and equipment modules needed to monitor the solar field. Receiving the grant is not only a boost to a project that is nearing completion in December, but it’s also a boost toward Grand Island continuing to lower its energy costs.
“These funds will be an added bonus to a project that has been years in the making,” Assistant Utilities Director Lynn Mayhew said. “Our addition of a 9.9-megawatt solar farm is still on track to come online in December, which will power approximately 10,000 homes while operating at the same cost as coal energy.”
All of the solar panels are now installed, with crews now focusing on the wiring of the panels. The last part of the project will be GIUD receiving the two step-up transformers to operate the field. The 21,600 panels of the new solar farm will make it the second-largest in the state of Nebraska, which comes in addition to the one megawatt solar farm already owned and operated by the city.