City made good decision on delaying solar panels

There are times when putting the brakes on a major undertaking in city government is the right call. This was the case recently when the city of Cape Girardeau determined to hold off, at least for now, on solar panels for several city properties.

City engineer Casey Brunke told the Southeast Missourian the city advertised two times this fall for bids on solar panels. The proposals requested that bids include options for a 25-year lease or purchase. Brunke said that not all the bids included these options.

"We didn't have complete packages to compare to each other, so we couldn't make a decision," Brunke said in the Dec. 27 story.

The city requested bids to look at 10 city-owned properties. Firms could choose among 19 properties, including fire stations, the Osage and Shawnee community centers and others.

The lowest bid for the project came in at about $770,000, almost $200,000 more than what was budgeted by the city.

The goal behind the proposal was to "go-green" and save money on electricity. However, the cost and limited information led officials to not move forward with the project for now, though they are open to considering solar panels in the future.

While solar panels may at some point be a good investment for the city, more information and bids will be needed.

We appreciate the city officials' not rushing into a decision on this issue.