Is there solar in Springfield’s future electric bill?

The town of Springfield could save up to $20,000 a year if it bought electricity from a solar project proposed by Winstanley Enterprises, the project developers told the Springfield Select Board on Monday night.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140813/NEWS02/708139939

Published August 13, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Is there solar in Springfield’s future electric bill? By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The town of Springfield could save up to $20,000 a year if it bought electricity from a solar project proposed by Winstanley Enterprises, the project developers told the Springfield Select Board on Monday night. Winstanley, which had previously proposed building a 35 megawatt wood-fired power plant on the same site in the North Springfield industrial park, said the town would save about 17 percent to 18 percent on its power bill by signing a contract with the company and its partners. Winstanley, Green Lantern Capital Group of Waterbury and Powersmith LLC of Guilford have plans to build a total of five 500 kilowatt facilities adjacent to each other in the park. Green Lantern is in the process of building similar solar projects in other parts of the state. The town of Springfield could easily use the output from two of those five arrays, said Ralph Meima of Green Lantern. Meima said he had spent many hours studying Springfield’s various electric bills, which he said were spread out over 22 different meters, including two pump stations. He said the town used 2.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Each of the five Winstanley-Green Lantern arrays would generate 900,000 kilowatt hours a year, he said. He estimated that Springfield would save between $17,000 and $20,000 a year on electricity. Springfield Select Board members appeared interested but were noncommittal about the project, which would likely require a townwide vote on any long-term contract. Also on hand listening to the Winstanley-Green Lantern proposal was Steven Hier, business manager for the Springfield School District. After the meeting, Town Attorney Stephen Ankuda, who was there for other issues, said he believed any long-term contract would require a townwide vote. When that issue was posed to Winstanley and Green Lantern officials, they said other towns, such as Brattleboro and Putney, had entered into power agreements with them without a townwide vote. Meima and Luke Shullenberger of Green Lantern said there would be “community benefits” in keeping the town’s power funds within the community. “The array is not in another state,” he said. Town Manager Robert Forguites questioned the aesthetics of the solar facility, noting that aesthetics was one of the objections to the ill-fated biomass plant. Meima said the solar system would have a “low profile” and was being proposed for low-quality agricultural soils, which are in the industrial park. Shullenberger said his firm was working to locate solar arrays in industrial settings, “rather than prime ag land or scenic byways.” The developers of the project would benefit from a 30 percent federal tax credit, Shullenberger said. Selectman George McNaughton, who is a lawyer, first raised the issue of a town entering into a 20-year binding contract without a townwide vote. McNaughton said in Windsor they could, but he wasn’t sure about Springfield’s requirements.