COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Board of Public Utilities hosted an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony Friday for its new Solar Field Park at the site of the former Midwest Foundry which closed in 1989 and later became an eyesore for many years.
A presentation of the solar field project was held at the offices of the CBPU and the Michigan South Central Power Agency at 168 Division Street which used to be the site of the Sauk Trail Trading Post
The solar energy field project next to the CBPU power plant became a reality after the City of Coldwater and the Marmon Group, which owned the property, entered into an agreement in July 2015 to lease the land for one dollar. The agreement came after nearly four years of negotiations.
Michigan South Central Power Agency General Manager and former CBPU Director Paul Beckhusen said the nearly 5,000 solar panels will produce one-point-three megawatts of energy or roughly enough electricity for 150 homes in the city.
Thanks to their membership with the American Municipal Power Initiative, Beckhusen said energy can be collected even on cloudy days.
American Municipal Power President Marc Gerken said solar energy is cost effective.
Even after the agreement was reached it took nearly two years for work on the seven acre site to start because of the legal process. Before the solar field project came along, there was talk several years ago of using the site for recreational purposes.
