Carlton County moves forward with solar project, despite shutdown

CARLTON — Carlton County will continue pursuing its federally funded solar field amid concerns about the shutdown of the U.S. government.

On Tuesday, County Administrator Dennis Genereau sought permission from the Carlton County Board of Commissioners to continue pursuing a previously approved solar field at the Carlton County Justice Center.

The board previously committed to spending at least 5% of the project cost by year’s end. That would obligate the federal government to provide the estimated $600,000 earmarked in the Joe Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, which appropriated significant amounts of federal funding for renewable energy. Otherwise, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, might have rescinded the funds.

Despite the board approval, Genereau has not authorized McKinstry, a construction and energy services company overseeing the proposed solar field, due to the shutdown of the federal government, which began on Oct. 1.

Genereau said he spoke with a tax consultant who confirmed the county will still receive the funds earmarked in the Inflation Reduction Act, regardless of the shutdown.

“I feel comfortable having talked to the tax accountant that we are good to go on that tax credit,” Genereau said. “That was important to this project to make sure we had that in place. Otherwise, the project doesn’t cash flow for us.”

Commissioner Dan Reed attempted to hold a vote to table the solar project because of uncertainty at the federal level, but failed to garner support.

“This is kind of one of these gamble kind of things that I’m not real comfortable with to depend at all on whatever government is going to tell us from above that can’t even keep the doors open,” Reed said. “Very untrustworthy.”

The approved project is a scaled-back version of the $5.4 million project county officials hope to construct with a separate $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, which requires a dollar-for-dollar match from the county. The federal funding for the project was previously reserved until the agency approves the county’s proposal.

If the county doesn’t receive the Department of Energy funding, the approved self-funded project is estimated to cost $3.59 million. The project includes unrelated capital improvement projects that the county already planned to do. The scaled-back project is budgeted to include the expected 30% match in Inflation Reduction Act funds.

McKinstry projects the project could save the county $6.9 million-$7.5 million in energy costs over the next 25 years, primarily from the solar field but also from repairs to infrastructure such as ventilation and heat pumps.

Genereau previously said the county could qualify for an additional 10% in federal funding because the panels comply with federal Buy America, Build America requirements, which prioritize American-made products for federally funded infrastructure projects.

The county’s net costs will be paid from its reserves. Those dollars are currently generating around 4% interest revenues, Genereau said, but he added that the project would yield an even greater return in cost savings.

“To me, that’s a worthwhile investment of that money. I can’t think of another investment … that’s going to get us that kind of return,” he said.

The county administrator warned that construction costs are rising, and if the county does not move forward with the project on its current timeline, the total cost of the project will increase.

Macklin Caruso is a reporter for the Cloquet Pine Journal. You can reach him at mcaruso@pinejournal.com or 218-461-8278.