Photovoltaic solar energy panels shown in a presentation by Sun Prairie investment firm Upper90 to the Lodi School District Board of Education’s December meeting.
Photovoltaic solar energy panels shown in a presentation by Sun Prairie investment firm Upper90 to the Lodi School District Board of Education’s December meeting.
The Lodi School District is making an investment into renewables and energy efficiency with the promise of netting nearly $2 million in savings by 2050.
At the Dec. 8 school board meeting, attendees were given a presentation from visitors that waited long into the course of the meeting for a proposal that had apparently been much longer in the making.
School board member Sarah Raemisch briefly introduced the representatives of the Sun Prairie-based investment firm Upper90, partners Mario Millonzi, Ben Terpening, and project engineer Adam Prochaska.
“As one of the three on the facility and finance committee,” said Raemisch, “we’ve spent a lot of time with these gentlemen and this subject for the last two months…This month we were well over an hour.”
Millonzi explained that their firm was proposing a project that, among other things, would allow identification of energy use peaks, which is significant, he said, because annual energy billing is developed through a formula based on a handful of measures of peak usage in 15 minute intervals. For the school district, this would mean year-round billing based on peak use at points during the summer with full air-conditioning running.
Identification of energy use would allow the district to mitigate some uses and also prevent overlapping high-intensity energy uses, which would then lower peak use, and thus lower year-round billing.
“To really understand if this investment is worth it or not, we put together a cashflow and the basis of this cashflow is over a 15-year term,” said Millonzi, “and what we’re hoping to accomplish here is to generate positive cash flow right out of the gate, in year one, for the school district.”
Part of the proposal included the possibility of taking advantage of a tax credit that would make the initial costs more palatable with installation of solar arrays on each of the five district buildings.
“If you follow that track through 2028 and 2029, as the solar system becomes more valuable, through the inflationary costs of electricity, you start to match and exceed what that annual payment is,” said Millonzi. “Not only that, but you could use that initial year-one surplus to cover some of those expenses as well.”
Raemisch then raised a question about the timeline of the cashflow estimate, to which Millonzi confirmed that, yes, it would mean that the district would only be “in the red” for three years, while the warranty on the solar system would extend to 25 years.
“There’s nothing to say that the panels won’t keep producing for 40 years,” said Millonzi. At the same time, he pointed out that it was assumed that over the years, there would be a margin of natural degradation in which equipment lose efficiency and produce less than when originally installed.
Board member Scott Bilse offered a summary of how he interpreted the project, inquiring to his understanding, in which the district would be getting solar energy installed on each of the four school buildings and administrative building, and would be able to avoid a massive up-front expense to start the project.
“But the way we’re paying for it, is money that normally would be spent on the utilities will not be going to the utilities, because we’re not going to be using as much electricity, and that money is what we’re going to use to pay down the cost of the project over 15 years,” said Bilse. “The important part is that the district is not laying out millions of dollars to do this.”
The Upper90 representatives agreed that was the premise of the proposal, going on to explain that the timeline, if approved would include several weeks of proposal development, then requesting and reviewing contractor bids, a process of three to four months of installation, and completion as early as June or July.
A matter of urgency in the proposal came through federal policy, according to Millonzi, as Jan. 1, 2026 will mark the beginning of implementation for Foreign Entities of Concern, which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, includes the nations of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
The policy would “create a pinch point” for necessary solar energy materials, according to Millonzi, who pointed out they were “already hearing rumblings from suppliers about what they think will happen.”
The IRS would be looking for evidence of project sourcing beginning on Jan. 1, so in order to be recognized as an in-progress project, Millonzi said that their accountant recommended payment of 5 to 7 percent before the new year in order to take advantage of tax credits.
Raemisch asked District Business Manager Jason Brewer if the district would have any difficulty funding 5 to 7 percent of the total project cost of $125,000 to $135,000, with Brewer assuring that amount of several thousand dollars could be available through the general fund or the capital projects fund.
An additional benefit of the project, according to Upper90 reps, was that students, such as members of the Science of Applied Problem Solving (SAPS) could be included in the process including “some physical connections” in installation.
Raemisch formally proposed that the board move forward with the project, moving to “approve adding electric data sub-metering, completing HVAC retro-commissioning and installing the recommended solar arrays on the roofs of all five district buildings as presented.” The motion was seconded by Steinberg, who added one more comment, in part as the advisor to the SAPS club.
“They are phenomenal at working with students and have gone out of their way to work with students–not just work with students, but go out of their way to do it,” said Steinberg, “and I think that with this project they will do that again.”
As well, Raemisch commended that the proposal was timed well in that particular meeting, which began with a presentation by Lodi High School students. A group of 9th graders outlined how science classes had collected energy data from the school and come up with recommendation for energy savings including installation of solar panels, and adjusting lighting in the school’s hallways.
Raemisch told the board “it was perfect” how the proposed project appeared to reflect the stated interests and priorities of students.
The board then unanimously voted to approve the project, 7 to 0.
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