With a little help from a state grant, Lometa, Texas, has installed solar panels to help power its sewage water treatment plant. The grant of $488,714 was awarded by the State Office of Rural Community Affairs. The grants are being offered to communities to give them a jump start toward installing renewable energy sources by assisting with the sometimes huge upfront capital costs.

The solar panels are expected to be installed by the end of 2010 and are projected to save the plant’s 323 customers about $6,000 per year in energy costs – energy they won’t have to purchase from other sources. The panels are expected to generate 70 kilowatt hours a year, or about half of the annual energy required to run the plant. This benefit will be passed onto the residents of Lometa as soon as the panels are running.

With continuously rising energy costs, the grants have generated a lot of interest among rural communities. The income among rural populations tends to be lower and the commute to employment and community services longer. The biggest use of energy tends to be waste water treatment and clean water distribution. Wind turbine or solar panel installation is the most cost effective and common means of introducing renewable energy technology to any community.

While solar energy contributes a tiny fraction of power to the state grid, Texas communities hope to turn that around. As more and more Texas communities are installing and operating the renewable energy programs, the savings is having an impact. In many cases it is already paying for the installation of the equipment. This is generating more interest among communities and the state agencies willing to help pay for these changes.