Four Potential Solar Sites Named...something to think about.

Four Potential Solar Sites Named
Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer

HUBBARDSTON  A recent survey conducted by Places Associates Inc. identified four potential locations around town suitable for a municipal solar array, though the project is likely still years in the making.

Town Administrator Anita Scheipers presented the results of the survey to the Board of Selectmen this week, listing the locations in order from most desirable to least desirable.

The local Highway Department, located on Route 68, was named the top-rated site for the solar panels according to the survey, which took inventory of and evaluated town-owned land and buildings. Next was Hubbardston Center School, which would see the panels fixed to the roof of the building due to space limitations. The town’s sand pit on Pitcherville Road was also listed as a potential site, along with Mt. Jefferson, although Ms. Scheipers was quick to denounce the last option.

“Because of land conservation issues there, we determined it probably would not work,” she told selectmen.

Ms. Scheipers said she will bring the survey back for further discussion at a later meeting, but wanted to present selectmen with the results as soon as the report was available.

Selectmen voted in October to spend $800 out of their expense account to fund the survey, and the first phase of the project is expected to cost about $5,000 total.

With three privately-owned solar farms already operating in town and indirectly benefiting taxpayers, Planning Board chairman Vincent Ritchie brought the possibility of building an array on town-owned property to selectmen last year, explaining that the farm would provide a more direct gain for taxpayers.

The arrays are usually constructed and developed by outside companies, and there are groups in the area that will install panels on private and public buildings at no cost to the owner.

Municipal solar farms have begun to take hold across the state over the last several years as towns and cities look to repurpose land that have outlived their use. The town of Harwich last year flipped the switch on a 4.4-megawatt facility built on a former landfill that is projected to save taxpayers over $300,000 annually.