Klamath County juvenile facility goes net zero and builds solar project
The director of the Klamath County Juvenile Department, Dan Golden, presented to the Klamath County Commissioners on Aug. 4. The commissioners accepted a bid from True South Solar Inc., an Ashland company, for the construction of a solar energy electric generation project at the juvenile department.
“The sizing of the solar project will actually produce enough energy to basically net zero the juvenile department’s electric load, public health across the roads electric load, and the building that our veteran services agency is in,” Golden said during the meeting.
“So we’re looking forward to getting that thing up and running, and eventually the county recouping on utility rates in the future,” he added.
The Oregon Department of Energy previously awarded the juvenile department a Community Renewable Energy Program grant of up to $321,998, or 50% of the project cost, to help fund the solar project. The total cost is over half a million dollars.
Four bids were submitted: True South Solar was awarded the contract at $573,970; EcoSolar Electric of Klamath bid $632,100; Advanced Energy Systems of Eugene bid $557,000; and No Problem Electric of Colorado bid $270,242.
The solar project is the final step in a major remodel to modernize the juvenile justice department. The renovation, which cost more than $16 million, replaced every part of the original 1962 building, according to Golden. The juvenile justice department was the first building on the county’s 40-acre parcel on what is now Vandenberg Avenue.
Golden originally considered a solar project to offset the carbon footprint of all county services on Vandenberg Avenue. However, officials realized that expanding the project further would require major infrastructure investments because of the load limitations of the existing transformer.
The solar array will occupy about three acres of land adjacent to the building. True South Solar originally consulted on rerouting the electric wiring to accommodate the solar field as part of the building remodel.
True South Solar also worked on a contract to develop the interconnection agreement with Pacific Power. The agreement will allow the project to connect to the energy grid. Golden said the agreement lapsed while officials coordinated funding, but he is confident it will be easily renewed because the details have already been sorted out.
“There has been a lot of preparation work for the project,” Golden said.
Throughout the remodel, the juvenile facilities have remained operational. Services will remain open during the solar construction.
“We’ve never ceased operations. We’ve never paused,” Golden said.
Golden, who has served as director for about 14 years, has a background in construction, which has helped propel many of these projects. Before attending law school and working in the district attorney’s office, he spent about 10 years in construction and still considers himself a carpenter. Before becoming director, he was the detention facilities manager.
“When I got here, I realized this place needed some updates,” Golden said. Over his tenure, he has made that happen.
A contract is being finalized, and a groundbreaking date will be announced soon.