FAIRFIELD, Ohio — Beginning this summer, Fairfield’s electric cost to run its wastewater treatment plant is expected to drop dramatically. That’s when a field containing an array of 3,000 solar panels is expected to go online.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was conducted Monday at the five-acre site just east of the Groh Lane plant between it and the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League fields.
“Today is a very exciting day. It’s the (start of the) city’s first-ever renewable energy project,’’ said Adam Sackenheim, assistant city manager. “(It) will soon be generating enough electricity to power over 65% of the city’s electricity used at our wastewater treatment plant — the single largest user of electricity of all city-owned facilities.”
When fully functional, the solar field is expected to generate 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. That will remove $150,000 to $200,000 annually in electricity costs from the city’s budget, Sackenheim said.
It is equivalent to providing electricity to 250 homes in Fairfield for 30 years, Sackenheim said.
The array is being designed and constructed by Milford-based Melink Solar at a cost of $3.1 million, including contingency. All of the panels and racking are 100% American-made.
The solar field is expected to pay for itself in 13 years and last 30 or more years when federal tax rebate incentives of about $1.1 million are factored in, Sackenheim said.
It will reduce the release of 36,626 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the system. The array should be completed and starting to generate electricity sometime in June or July.
“We are excited to be in touch with (Fairfield) years down the road after the system is operating to make sure that they don’t just get what was expected from the system,’’ said Monica Niehaus, Melink’s business development manager. “(We’re confident) they get much, much more in terms of the financial savings as electricity costs continue to skyrocket.”
This is the first major project since city council adopted the Fairfield Sustains plan — the city’s first sustainability plan — in August 2024.
“We had a clear priority goal, and that was to increase local, onsite, renewable energy operations by 2030,” said Councilwoman Gwen Brill. “Today, with this groundbreaking, we take a meaningful step toward achieving that goal. It represents sound fiscal stewardship and long-term cost stability and a commitment to sustainability for generations to come.”
The system will plug in directly behind the Duke Energy meter at the wastewater treatment plant, Sackenheim said. The city will remain connected to the electricity grid.
“If it works well, we’ll look at doing something similar at the water plant — the next largest user of electricity (by city facilities),” Sackenheim said.
Last summer, Melink installed roof-mounted solar panels at West Chester Township’s administration building. The company is working with Oxford on a project and has installed two panel arrays along the eastern border of Miami University’s Oxford campus. There are also solar fields next to a Dayton water treatment plant.
