Woodstock District 200 board cancels solar farm contract

The Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 board has voted to rescind a contract it had approved for a solar farm at Woodstock North High School.

The board wanted to rescind the agreement with Palatine-based Nelnet Renewable Energy because the company came back after last month’s vote requesting a “substantial increase in the contract price,” according to district documents.

The resolution the board approved Tuesday also spells out that the district could treat the price increase as a “counter-offer or a repudiation of the Board’s award.”

Nearly the entire project was to be funded through tax credits and subsidies. The cost of the project was estimated to be nearly $3.7 million when the board approved it last month, with the district receiving almost $465,000 of ComEd rebates, just over $1 million in federal tax credits and nearly $2.4 million in credits from the Illinois Shines incentive program. The total credits added up to about $3.9 million, although the district also had other expenses such as fencing and commissioning costs totaling about $250,000, according to documents.

The solar farm was projected to produce slightly more energy than would be consumed, and the district estimated it would have saved $2.7 million in energy costs over 20 years, according to records.

After board members unanimously voted to rescind the contract, they also came to a consensus that they’d like to keep seeking new bids for a solar farm. District 200 Director of Communications Kevin Lyons said in an email that “the new bidding process will likely take place within the next few months.”

Nelnet Renewable Energy could not be reached for comment Thursday.