Clarksburg Considers Two Possible Solar Arrays
 Kirt Mayland of Reservoir Road Holdings reviews plans for a private array off Gravel Bank Road. |
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Clarksburg is considering a municipal solar array on the former landfill.
The Selectmen on Monday were also updated on a proposal for the development of a private array on Gravel Bank Road.
Town Administrator Carl McKinney informed the board that he plans to apply for a state Clean Energy Resiliency Initiative grant that will pay for technical consulting of a 77-acre parcel of town-owned land.
McKinney said the parcel extends from the Department of Public Works building on West Cross Road north to the old dump.
A solar array would be placed on the capped landfill and some of the land could possibly be developed for public use.
"There are 77 acres. We could make mountain bike or hiking trails. We are into this Mass in Motion thing. It is right near the school, and it is right near the Senior Center," McKinney said. "There are 77 acres of land that really do not have much purpose. ... There is a lot of cool stuff we could do with that."
McKinney said the land cannot be sold because of the covered landfill. He said the landfill will continue to be tested and all past readings have deemed it safe.
The consultant's survey will lead to recommendations of what can be done and how to develop it.
McKinney said the solar array would generate revenue as well as provide electricity to save the town money. He said the solar array could power the DPW building and turn the elementary school into an emergency operation center less dependent on unsustainable resources.
He said if Clarksburg does not start looking for similar ways to create revenue it will not survive because it has "limited growth capacity."
"The state owns 53 percent of the town and they give us a whole lot of nothing in the way of pilot money," McKinney said. "I am not against forestland but when they own half of the town, they give the town $20,000 a year, and are looking to acquire more, they are going to bankrupt the town in short order."
 Town Administrator Carl McKinney explains the potential for a municipal solar array. |
In addition to the landfill solar array, Kirt Mayland of Reservoir Road Holdings in Avon, Conn., met with the board to go over the possible construction of a small ground-mounted array on Ronald Krutiak's land on Gravel Bank Road.
He said he has entered into a possible agreement with Krutiak and would like to build a 4.2-acre array.
Mayland said nearly 75 percent of his arrays are built on gravel or sand pits because he focuses on environmentally degraded areas that are hidden from view.
"I try not to create, as much as possible, any local opposition to the extent of visual effects," Mayland said. "I like to find good sites where there are no wetlands and no environmental issues. I am an environmental lawyer by training so I am particularly sensitive to wetlands and small streams."
Tags: landfill, municipal solar, solar array,
