Legend has it that at some time in the 20th Century, some pundit was heard to say something to the effect of, “A billion dollars here and a billion dollars there, and before long you’re talking about real money.”
That may or may not have happened, but in spite of the hostility which the solar power industry has faced over the last forty-odd years, the City of Corvallis has been, since 2011, installing a kilowatt’s worth of solar panels here, and a kilowatt’s worth there, investing money in generation capacity in the hope of avoiding having to pay even more for electricity coming in from distant generation sites.
Each installation has been bigger than the one before, including an immense spread which found a productive use for an infamous brownfield contamination site, the former United Chrome facility, culminating, thus far, in a majestic spread of panels at Corvallis Public Works, between Highway 34 and Highway 99W, near Buchanan Avenue.
Added together, the City of Corvallis owns 360 kilowatts of solar electric generating capacity, protecting Corvallis taxpayers from possible rate hikes and power interruptions in future years, making productive use of otherwise useless land and providing useful experience to engineers and mechanics in handling local power generation.
By John M. Burt
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com