http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010707149913
Springfield company proposes states largest solar power facility • Rutland Herald • By Susan Smallheer Staff WRITER - Published: July 14, 2010 • SPRINGFIELD — A solar installation that is expected to be the largest in the state is being planned by IVEK Corp., a North Springfield manufacturer of precision pumping systems. • Mark Tanny, president of IVEK, said that the solar array would be built and operational if all goes well by the end of the year, in order to take advantage of federal tax credits. “We’re going to get it done,” said Tanny, who said that the project would soon apply for its certificate of public good from the Vermont Public Service Board, which approves utility projects. • He declined to say how much the project would cost. • Tanny said the motivation to build the solar facility was simply to generate some of the company’s power needs. “We need a lot of electricity,” he said. “Energy independence is really a good thing.” • According to Springfield Town Manager Robert Forguites, if the IVEK solar installation is approved, “it will be the biggest in the state.” • The solar facility would call for 936 photovoltaic solar panels and would produce 90 percent of the firm’s electrical needs — 2.4 megawatts — and cover an area bigger than two football fields. It would be built on land already owned by IVEK, next to its facility in the North Springfield Industrial Park, and would measure 380 feet by 280 feet. • Under the plan, the IVEK solar installation would be “net-metered” and would put its excess power onto the Vermont power grid. • Susan Hudson, clerk for the Public Service Board, said that the IVEK application had been filed last week and that so far hearings have yet to be scheduled. Hudson noted that “a handful” of large solar projects had recently been filed with the board, including one by Central Vermont Public Service Corp. “This is a very large project,” she said. • Tanny asked for and received waivers from the Town of Springfield for a 45-day notice to a public hearing, required under the PSB process. Springfield zoning administrator Bill Kearns said the Planning Commission and the Board of Selectmen granted the waiver to the 45-day notice for the hearing. He said that the town had no regulatory role in the project. • Tanny said he asked for the waiver in order to get the project approved as quickly as possible. • Kearns also said that the ground-based solar installation will be built in land zoned industrial and would be set back from Main Street in North Springfield, and along Precision Drive. Kearns said the installation would be surrounding by a fence, according to IVEK’s plans. • Tanny said that the project would be built by Prudent Living Inc. of Windsor, and had been designed by RES-TEK of Bridgewater. He said the panels would be between 4 1/2 to 5 feet wide and two to three feet tall. • Tanny emphasized that the panels would be American-built, from Sharp Corp. “We’re not buying them from China,” he said. • The Edgar May Recreation and Health Center in Springfield already has a large solar installation on its roof. Elsewhere, National Life in Montpelier built a rooftop system in 2008 that includes 418 panels. Central Vermont Public Service recently put its 264-panel solar and educational installation online at a cost of $400,000, which will produce enough electricity for 10 homes. • http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100714/NEWS02/707149913/1003/NEWS02
No comments :
Post a Comment
Please keep your comments polite and on-topic. No profanity