DALTON, Mass. — Large multi-megawatt solar panel photovoltaic array projects are likely not feasible in the near future. 

 

Green Committee member Todd Logan updated the committee last week on his efforts to obtain data to inform the possibility of developing large PV arrays on town properties.

 

The town's Climate Action Plan consultant, Blue Strike Environmental, requested information on what it should focus on when developing the Climate Action Plan. 

 

The company needed data on the town's energy generation capacity to determine the type of feasible projects for the town. 

 

Eversource provided the Green Committee with a distributed generation hosting pre-application report, which it will provide to Blue Strike.

 

The latest information provided granular data, including the substation transformer rating, the substation's circuit voltage and name, the phase available near the site, and the distance from the phase service if it's a single phase. 

 

It also includes standards for the interconnection of distributed generation, including information on aggregate connected facilities that have not yet been interconnected, the interconnecting customer's network types and nearby feeders, and potential system constraints that may impact the proposed facility, among other things. 

 

The Eversource data informs which more tangible and feasible projects Blue Strike Environmental should focus on. 

 

The Eversource representative also informed Logan that due to a group of very large grid-connected energy generation projects already in the queue, a study has to be conducted to see the impact on the Eversouce circuit that serves Dalton. 

 

The Eversource representative indicated that the grid infrastructure would likely need to be upgraded to accommodate these projects. 

 

Until the study is complete, circuit 18C BERKSHIRE's hosting capacity will be unclear. This will make it unclear what type of projects the town is able to do in the future, Logan said. 

 

If the upgrades are needed, each energy project will have to contribute to the cost of the upgrades, he said. 

 

The Eversource representative could not give Logan many details about the project, such as the timeframe and scope. 

 

In other news: 

 

The installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the Community Recreation Association has been delayed, committee member Antonio Pagliarulo said. 

 

Dave Callahan of Universal EV Charging Station, who is overseeing the project, is ready to install the stations, but Eversource is delayed, Pagliarulo said. 

 

It is unclear when the project will be completed but they hope to have it done in August.

 

Committee members suggested that the town decide which composting station model to use for its transfer station, either the Egremont Transfer Station's model or Williamstown compost's model.

 

They also would like a Green Committee representative to be part of the transfer station study.