North Adams Council to Decide Solar Lease, Resolutions
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday will be asked to approve a lease agreement that will clear the way for a 3.5 megawatt solar array at the former landfill.
The council will also decided resolutions to for a full-service hospital and against a controversial natural gas transmission line.
The contracts with Borrego Solar Systems also include a negotiated power-purchase agreement expected to save the city more than $200,000 a year in energy costs.
The solar company will lease the capped landfill for $12,000 a year over 20 years and be responsible for installation, operation and removal.
The council was provided an overview of the energy system two weeks ago by Mayor Richard Alcombright and Borrego senior project developer Amy McDonough.
The mayor had told the councilors then that his goal had been to bring a full project before them.
"I've overpromised and underdelivered on solar projects," he said, referring to a larger project the city backed out of when financing fell through.
The current project has been approved by both the Planning Board and Conservation Commission.
"It's been a long time coming and it think we're ready to go," he said.
McDonough said Borrego had built out more than 80 MW of solar in the state, including a number of landfills. The company designs and builds the arrays and then sells them to a sister company or investor.
The project is only made possible by a solar credit program through the state, she said.
"This solar project has secured the significant hurdles it had to meet," McDonough said.
The PPA rate would .0925 kWh with a 2 percent annual escalator. The first-year energy production is estimated at 4.375 million kWh.
The city uses about 5.4 million kilowatt-hours in its buildings yearly, or under $1 million in energy costs. Savings from credits against the energy produced.
At the end of the 20-year lease, the city can negotiate to buy the array, extend the contract or ask it be removed.
If the City Council approves the lease, construction is expected to start this year and the system would go online next year.
In a heavy agenda, the council will also take up a right to farm bylaw, hear updates on the Hadley Overpass and the Greylock Market, and approve a number of appointments.
Tags: solar array,
