Saving money on energy

Saving+money+on+energy

Anna Cole, Staff Writer

The Wayne City Council is in negotiations with two energy companies to supply the city with wind energy. The council is hoping to reduce the amount of money the city currently spends on energy.

City Council has been looking into purchasing wind turbine power for about eight years, and during this time, the cost of wind power has dropped by more than half. The council is currently looking at two offers that would provide about 15 percent of the city’s total purchased energy.

A consultant for the city on the project mentioned that now is the time to buy, and that Wayne is sitting on top one of the best wind energy power pools in the country.

The consultant said that Wayne has tremendous potential for low cost renewable energy.

One offer being discussed is from the Rattlesnake Creek Project, which will bring 150 new turbines north of Wakefield. The other is the Cottonwood Turbine Project in the Red Cloud area of Nebraska. Both offers have low prices, and the City Council is focusing on the terms of each offer.

City Council also discussed some possible changes in pricing for the Community Activity Center. The center has been operating at a deficit and ideas were discussed about how to lower that deficit.

Some of the ideas included raising prices again for the third year in a row, to only raising prices for non-members. After much discussion, it was decided that the recreation board and activity center will go over costs and look for ways to lower the deficit without raising the cost to members. The topic was then tabled for later discussion.

City Council will meet again on April 4.