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The immediate future for using solar panels in Eagan, it turns out, is not so bright. A recent study delivered to the City Council indicates it could take as long as 60 years in some cases to recoup investments Eagan might make in placing solar panels on city buildings and water towers. “That’s just too long,” City Administrator Tom Hedges said. “I was surprised …

20 to 60 years is quite a bit out. The technologies are there, but they are just very expensive.

” Hedges said, for example, that installing solar panels on just the Deerwood water tower, or reservoir, would cost an estimated $320,000. Installing panels on three or four water reservoirs, as well as city buildings, would have required the city to spend well over $1 million. “The council is pretty committed to being innovative,” Hedges said. “but that’s pretty spendy.” The solar feasibility report was commissioned earlier this year by the city at a cost of $15,000 as part of an overall plan to become greener by reducing waste and increasing sustainability around the city. “We will continue to research,” said Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire. “We do have an interest in green technology.” The city, for example, recently broke ground on a green fire training center that is expected to lead to thousands of dollars in energy savings each year. Also, Eagan has retrofitted the city civic arena with geothermal pipes, Hedges said. The $2.7 million project is expected to yield annual energy and operating cost savings of more than $125,000 per year, said Dianne Miller, assistant to the city administrator.

The City Council this week also was expected to enter into separate agreements with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the University of Minnesota designed to improve Eagan’s green efforts and, in the process, its bottom line. The university agreement calls for students to conduct a semester-long analysis of city practices this fall that will tell staff and elected officials what the city is doing right and what it is doing wrong regarding its management of waste, energy usage and other practices. “it is not costing the city anything,” Miller said. The agreement with the MPCA is part of the agency’s GreenStep Cities program, which will certify Eagan as a greener city meeting goals aimed at energy and cost savings and innovation. The program, which involves using 28 best practices on a daily basis, was brought to the attention of the city by Maguire earlier this year. “it struck me as a good tool for Eagan and other communities to reduce their carbon footprint,” the mayor said. “We’re going to be doing more investment in these areas as they get closer in reach.” Said Hedges, “We want to look at all the ways that we can save dollars and energy.” Heron Marquez Estrada Cost dims future of solar energy for Eagan facilities