City staff still are waiting to hear whether Lampasas will receive a $2 million grant to build a solar energy facility at a former city landfill off Old Georgetown Road.

The Lampasas City Council voted in October to apply for an alternative energy grant the State Energy Conservation Office is offering using federal economic stimulus funds. Although SECO set a December 2009 deadline for grant recipients to prepare contracts, City Manager Michael Stoldt said, at press time city officials still had not been notified which municipalities will receive grants.

SECO has $30 million to distribute for municipal alternative energy projects. Stoldt and Mayor Judy Hetherly both have said Lampasas probably has a good opportunity to receive grant funding.

The maximum grant amount is $2 million, which would provide most of the funds for constructing 1,472 photovoltaic panels. That equipment could generate 433,000 kilowatt hours per year, about half a percent of the city’s annual electric consumption, according to the grant application.

If Lampasas is awarded state funds, the City Council may accept or decline the grant. If the city receives a grant, the decision whether to accept it will depend on the cost of building and maintaining a solar energy facility, as well as the effect on customers’ utility bills, Stoldt and Public Works Director Randy Clark have said.