BROWNSTOWN — Funding has been put in place for two projects expected to produce more than $1.3 million in energy and operational savings for the town over the next 20 years.

The projects to convert Brownstown’s wastewater treatment plant from electricity to solar power and more than 230 streetlights from sodium vapor bulbs to LED has a price tag of $913,623.

The town council recently agreed to borrow $713,632 of the funds for the work from D.A. Davidson & Co. after reviewing a bid from that Great Falls, Montana-based investment firm along with bids from The Peoples Bank of Brownstown and First Financial Bank of Seymour.

The winning bid featured an interest rate of 4.77%. The vote was 3-0 in favor of D.A. Davidson’s bid with Councilwoman Sharon Koch absent during the meeting at the town hall.

The council plans to use American Rescue Plan and other funds on hand as a $200,000 down payment and a rebate of $257,935 in federal Inflation Reduction Act funds to reduce the loan amount to $455,697. That rebate would be available in 2024 if the work is completed and the system is energized by the end of this year.

“Worst-case scenario, you get it in 2025,” Rick Anderson said if projects are not complete.

Anderson is the business development director with the Indianapolis office of Veregy, a Phoenix, Arizona-based company that provides engineering and energy efficiency optimizations across the country.

Anderson said Veregy would hustle to try to get the work completed by the end of the year.

The project is expected to produce $1,330,298 over 20 years, while the initial payback for the loan is 19.32 years. That would be reduced to 16.81 years when the council applies the federal Inflation Reduction Act payment toward the loan.