Future Looks Bright For Solar Power In Hubbardston

Future Looks Bright For Solar Power In Hubbardston
Rebecca Leonard
News Correspondent

HUBBARDSTON  With three privately owned solar developments already installed in town, another company is looking to put in its own panels.

“They’re a fairly low-impact development for the town. They aren’t a commercial business so they won’t require any extra services like the Fire Department,” said Town Administrator Anita Scheipers.

According to Ms. Scheipers, Borrego Solar, which is well-known across the state, is looking to install two new developments in the northeast quadrant of the town, off of Route 68.

However, the exact location of the developments hasn’t been determined yet.

The town has three solar farms already: one on Pitcherville Road and two on Williamsville Road. The Pitcherville Road development was finished in 2013 and is the town’s largest, with 3.2 megawatts being produced.

From these three solar arrays, the town accrued $77,000 in projected personal property tax revenues, so although the electricity produced from the developments goes straight to the general electricity supply, the town does see money coming back.

The town isn’t responsible for the fees to get the permits for the construction — the companies that own these developments are required to pay permitting process fees

Borrego Solar has installed developments at Harvard University, Assumption College, the Ludlow landfill and many other locations across the state. Landfills are commonly used for developments by Borrego as nothing else could be used on that land.

“They are a good use of acreage,” said Ms. Scheipers.

In the spring, the town hired Places Associates Inc. to conduct a survey of the town to identify locations where it could potentially build its own solar developments sometime in the future.

The survey looked at town-owned parcels of land and buildings such as the local Highway Department, Hubbardston Center School and the town’s sand pit on Pitcherville Road. Mount Jefferson Road was also recommended when the survey was first done, but Ms. Scheipers turned that option down because of land conservation issues.

With its own developments, the town could use what it needed of the electricity generated and sell the rest as net metering credits, a billing system that credits back unused energy to owners that have solar panels on their rooftops.

“We’ve only identified sites. We haven’t determined a size or how much land would be needed,” explained Ms. Scheipers.

The town also hasn’t decided which company will be building the solar sites. For now, the town will look into companies such as Borrego Solar.