Here are the headlines that Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe read on-air this week:
Paying the community value of solar power
The city council may change to how Denton helps pay for rooftop solar, now that the city’s Sustainability Framework Advisory Committee has identified issues in a local study on the value of solar power.
Rooftop solar can be costly to install, but is often a good deal for Denton homes and businesses, taking about 7-10 years to pay for itself. As the cost of solar panels dropped and ever more customers installed them, Denton Municipal Electric officials became concerned about fairness.
Today, about 1,100 DME customers have rooftop solar. That number is climbing even though the city stopping paying incentives for installation. DME still pays rooftop solar customers about 10 cents per kilowatt hour for their extra electricity—that’s compared to the 4 cents per kwh DME pays for electricity from solar farms.
Committee member Adam Briggle agreed to cutting the rate DME pays for local solar power, if the savings go to the Green Sense program, which helps customers pay for energy-conservation projects.
Adam Briggle: “So I’m thinking about people—low income communities in the city of Denton—who could benefit from this extra money to insulate their homes. As things gets hotter, they’re the ones who are going to maybe need this the most. I do think there’s equity issues to be considered in this.”
Briggle agreed with other committee members that are urging city leaders to consider more perspectives around the rate changes. Current rooftop solar customers made their investments with financial assumptions that the city now wants to shift. Most of those customers still have to get power from the grid after dark because they installed systems when the technology for battery storage was still lagging.
But there was more to consider than just that, he said.
Adam Briggle: “I mean I just want to recall that we had decided, that as a community, that we could have a lot greater impact for the goals and values that we have by putting that money into this program. Times have changed.”
Committee member Brand Richter said that he was uncomfortable recommending a rate to the city council—especially when the rate study agreed that renewable energy has a social value for residents and businesses coping with climate change—but offered no numbers for city officials to consider.
The committee wondered whether a new program paying incentives for battery storage could help, since rooftop solar customers with such storage have demonstrated more resilience: they can keep the lights on when the grid goes down.
Committee member Ed Soph asked for more data on how many low-income households have pursued energy conservation projects since Green Sense began in 2009.
The program payments often show up as credits on the electric bill, which can take a few months to fully realize. Cash-strapped households may benefit the most from energy conservation projects, but the current program requires them to put money up front to participate.
The city staff estimates that 80 percent of Denton’s homes and businesses need such energy conservation upgrades, and that could lower energy consumption community-wide by as much as 40 percent.
More information at cityofdenton.com.
Lots of mosquitoes, but no West Nile — yet
It’s been about two weeks since the city began its annual program of trapping mosquitoes to test for West Nile Virus. Biology research students at the University of North Texas manage the weekly trapping, and a state-run lab does the testing for the city. The wet spring has brought a mosquito boon, but so far traps are negative for the virus since testing began on May 27.
In southern Denton County, one trap came up positive earlier this spring.
Public health officials urge residents to reduce the mosquito habitat by draining standing water from fixtures around their homes and businesses and to protect themselves at dawn and dusk, when mosquitos are most active.
The city publishes an interactive map online with the latest results from mosquito traps in your neighborhood. More information at cityofdenton.com.
Annual gardening show Saturday morning
Denton County Master Gardeners invite local gardeners and garden lovers of all ages to the Fruit, Vegetable, Herb and Flower Show at the North Texas State Fairgrounds beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Growers will compete for ribbons and bragging rights, and spectators can see the wide range of possibilities for a North Texas garden and hear a talk from the former executive director of the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center. More information at dcmga.com.
Local News currently airs each Wednesday at 10 a.m. on KUZU 92.9 FM-LP in Denton, Texas, with rebroadcasts airing at 3 p.m. Thursday, and 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. The Weekend Edition of Local News airs each Saturday at 4 p.m., with rebroadcasts at 9 p.m. and midnight; and 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday.
Send news tips by email to newsonkuzu@protonmail.com or by calling 940-241-7531.
On air since 2017, KUZU is Denton’s only volunteer-run, nonprofit community radio station. You can learn more and listen online at kuzu.fm.
Local News and Weekend Edition scripts are published on Substack. Subscribe for free at peggyheinkelwolfe.substack.com and follow live microblogging of Local News on Mastodon @phwolfe940@denton.social. Peggy is an award-winning, veteran journalist and a Denton County resident since 1993.