MA town meets 100 percent of its municipal power needs with renewable energy
A solar installation built on a former 29-acre municipal landfill that has since been capped and covered with soil in the town of Scituate, Massachusetts has been chosen from a pool of 21 finalists to receive a 2014 "Photovoltaic Project of Distinction" award from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA).
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Credit: Edward O'Connor/Wikimedia Commons |
The 3 MW, 12.5-acre "Scituate Solar I" project makes Scituate the first town in the United States to operate 100 percent of its city-owned facilities with renewable energy. The project features 10,560 polysilicon panels and includes design and engineering considerations that maintain the integrity of the sensitive landfill cap. An online monitoring system that measures the project's real-time and cumulative energy output is accessible to teachers, students and the general public.
Scituate Solar is expected to produce 3.825 million kilowatt-hours per year and save the town $200,000 a year from net metering.
The project was financed by a power purchase agreement (PPA) of 8.4 cents per kilowatt-hour with the town of Scituate and a debt facility provided by KeyBank, and also qualified for the 1603 Treasury Grant and the SREC I program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER).
With the help of a nearby wind turbine, Scituate meets 100 percent of its municipal power needs from renewable sources.
"We started down this path to improve cost efficiency for our taxpayers and reduce our carbon footprint as a municipality," said Albert Bangert, director of special projects for Scituate. "By combining wind and solar energy sources to power our schools, emergency services, harbor, street lights, and sewer and water treatment facilities, we capitalize on New England's variable weather conditions."
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