LOMETA -- A wastewater treatment plant in Lampasas County is being run by the sun.
Dedication ceremonies were held Tuesday in Lometa for a 100-kilowatt solar array. The system is expected to provide or offset up to 100 percent of the electricity needed to run the facility, which is owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority.
A nearly $489,000 grant from the Texas Department of Rural Affairs contributed to the project. The department says the unit in Lometa is the first in Texas to have its wastewater treatment plant powered by the sun.
The department says electricity costs at the plant are expected to be reduced an estimated $13,000 annually.
Lometa, with a population of nearly 900, is located 80 miles northwest of Austin.
