Commissioners discuss energy and tree removal

By Thomas Clapper

FPS Staff Writer

Carroll County commissioners met Thursday, May 8 to discuss an electric contract and address tree issues at the annex building.

Palmer Energy consultant Bob Snavely attended the meeting to discuss the electric contract and explain the current energy market climate.

Snavely explained that the artificial intelligence (AI) race is driving up the demand for more energy, and pricing is higher than before due to capacity. The data centers that support AI use the same amount of energy that 450,000 households consume annually.

Snavely said the grid can currently handle the demand, but there will be an imbalance in June.

Commissioners asked what could be done to address the issue and increase power availability.

Snavely said a nuclear power plant is very efficient, with small emissions, but they are expensive and larger plants take approximately 20 years to build, which will not help in the near term. Coal plants are no longer being shuttered but are being converted to natural gas-fired plants.

Solar and wind energy are less reliable because they do not produce a consistent output and are dependent on the weather. Snavely said that at night and on less windy days, energy production is significantly lower, making it harder to estimate available energy.

“We are getting a ton of renewable energy put back on the grid, which is good because we need all the power we can get,” Snavely said. “But how can we calculate that? We can’t predict the weather, which is a lot of what this is based on.”

Snavely said the bottom line is that if the United States wants to win the AI race, it needs more energy.

Snavely said residents may already be receiving notices about switching suppliers. He confirmed that Dynegy Inc. will be the new supplier.

“If you get something in the mail saying Dynegy Inc. is going to be your new supplier, that’s a good thing, that’s what we want,” Snavely said. “With all the counties in the state, somebody may get this and think, ‘Wait a minute, we didn’t sign up for this,’ but you actually did. Still, they call and opt out, and then we have to re-enroll the meters.”

Snavely told commissioners that they will receive the results of the annual savings in the fall, as that’s when the data is released.

In an unrelated matter, Building and Grounds Superintendent Ed Eick reported that Chris Rutledge met with three tree removal companies to discuss removing numerous stumps and trees at the annex building grounds.

Eick said several unhealthy pine trees, approximately 35 stumps, and a half-dead maple tree leaning toward the building need to be removed. The pine trees are creating a mess of pinecones and needles, posing a safety hazard for mowers and affecting the new building roof.

Three contractors submitted bids, and Eick recommended Smitty Tree Service of Sherrodsville, whose bid of $12,000 would cover grinding all stumps, removing the necessary trees, and adding topsoil and hydroseed to replace the stumps and trees.

“This cost is more than reasonable to me,” Eick said. “They are a very large company and can most likely do this in one day.”

Commissioner Robert Wirkner asked if there had been any effort to sell the trees. Eick said they had contacted two potential buyers, but the pine is not white pine, so there was no interest in the wood.

In other business, commissioners:

— Paid bills totaling $99,022.18.

— Held an executive session to consider the employment of a public employee. No action was taken.