The solar farm on the town's old landfill was just an idea four years ago. Today, commuters and residents passing on Route 70 can see the 1,680 solar modules ready to capture power from the sun.
“Solar farms on landfills weren't talked about back then, so I asked Ken Gendron, an engineer who monitors our landfill if he thought it feasible. He thought I was crazy. Now I kid him about it whenever we see each other,” said Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco.
Lancaster's 550 kilowatt solar farm is Central Massachusetts' only municipally owned and operated facility. There are two others in Greenfield and Easthampton that went online last month.
The project is almost complete with all the solar modules in place on the south side of the landfill. Construction workers from K.G.C.I. Inc. of Saugus are wiring the modules to an underground system and finishing off fencing the perimeter of the 2.77-acre farm.
The $2 million project is being funded with $1.5 million in energy conservation bonds through the commonwealth's Department of Energy Resources and $500,000 in federal funds that were earmarked especially for the project.
The interest rate on the bonds after rebate will be 1 percent or less, according to Mr. Pacheco.
When the solar farm starts producing power, it will also be earning Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, one certificate for every 1,000 kilowatts generated. The farm is expected to generate 610,000 kilowatts per year.
A certificate's worth is between $285 and $600 on the open market. Buyers are utility companies that by state regulations must have a percentage of the power supplied to consumers be renewable “green” energy produced by solar farms, wind turbines and the like.
The town is also on the way to being approved for municipal aggregation by the state. When that happens, electricity for those residents who wish to be part of the aggregation will be negotiated for by a contracted third party from suppliers on the open market.
There are 2,700 households, plus numerous businesses that will be affected by the aggregation in Lancaster, an estimated 20 million kilowatts. The third-party company would only benefit if residents see a reduction in their power costs, power which is currently supplied by National Grid.
Town officials plan to negotiate the energy certificates at a rate which would not fluctuate over the term of a 3- to 5-year contract when an agreement is ready to be signed by selectmen with a company. The revenue from the certificates would be used to pay off the bonds at no cost to taxpayers.
To top it off, the farm will be generating about the same amount of power that all the municipal buildings in town use in a year, reducing the town's electricity bill to minimal amounts.
When the bonds are paid off, the revenue from the farm's output will be used to further reduce the town's consumption of power. One of the options being considered is buying street lights from National Grid, removing the high power consumption sodium vapor bulbs and replacing them with LED bulbs.
Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120707/NEWS/107079893/0/business
| Work continues beneath the solar modules at the municipally-owned solar farm off Route 70 in Lancaster. |
“Solar farms on landfills weren't talked about back then, so I asked Ken Gendron, an engineer who monitors our landfill if he thought it feasible. He thought I was crazy. Now I kid him about it whenever we see each other,” said Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco.
Lancaster's 550 kilowatt solar farm is Central Massachusetts' only municipally owned and operated facility. There are two others in Greenfield and Easthampton that went online last month.
The project is almost complete with all the solar modules in place on the south side of the landfill. Construction workers from K.G.C.I. Inc. of Saugus are wiring the modules to an underground system and finishing off fencing the perimeter of the 2.77-acre farm.
The $2 million project is being funded with $1.5 million in energy conservation bonds through the commonwealth's Department of Energy Resources and $500,000 in federal funds that were earmarked especially for the project.
The interest rate on the bonds after rebate will be 1 percent or less, according to Mr. Pacheco.
When the solar farm starts producing power, it will also be earning Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, one certificate for every 1,000 kilowatts generated. The farm is expected to generate 610,000 kilowatts per year.
A certificate's worth is between $285 and $600 on the open market. Buyers are utility companies that by state regulations must have a percentage of the power supplied to consumers be renewable “green” energy produced by solar farms, wind turbines and the like.
The town is also on the way to being approved for municipal aggregation by the state. When that happens, electricity for those residents who wish to be part of the aggregation will be negotiated for by a contracted third party from suppliers on the open market.
There are 2,700 households, plus numerous businesses that will be affected by the aggregation in Lancaster, an estimated 20 million kilowatts. The third-party company would only benefit if residents see a reduction in their power costs, power which is currently supplied by National Grid.
Town officials plan to negotiate the energy certificates at a rate which would not fluctuate over the term of a 3- to 5-year contract when an agreement is ready to be signed by selectmen with a company. The revenue from the certificates would be used to pay off the bonds at no cost to taxpayers.
To top it off, the farm will be generating about the same amount of power that all the municipal buildings in town use in a year, reducing the town's electricity bill to minimal amounts.
When the bonds are paid off, the revenue from the farm's output will be used to further reduce the town's consumption of power. One of the options being considered is buying street lights from National Grid, removing the high power consumption sodium vapor bulbs and replacing them with LED bulbs.
Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120707/NEWS/107079893/0/business
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