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Date: 5/2/2023
WILLIAMSBURG — Faced with a new challenge — mounting a solar array on the roof of the new public safety complex — the Energy Committee welcomed a new member last week, Jonathan Gregory.
Gregory has professional experience with solar arrays.
“Previously, I worked for PV Squared,” Gregory said at the April 24 meeting. “I’m not in the field anymore and it’s a little sad…so I have to get my energy hat on.”
The committee was already stocked with science and energy expertise. Chair Jim Piermarini works for Eversource’s energy efficiency team. Member Adin Maynard is a multi-family energy specialist for Powerhouse Energy Consulting. Neal Anderson has an engineering background while Richard Guzowski is a retired science teacher. Mimi Kaplan is a senior planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
Piermarini saw the deep and broad expertise on his committee as useful for residents and the town when dealing with energy technology. The committee is currently focused on two major initiatives, finding a new contract for energy aggregation and generating solar energy at the new public safety complex.
“We’re steeping in this effort to get solar mounted on the new public safety complex,” he said.
Piermarini told committee members the Public Safety Complex Building Committee initially sought solar design services by fielding a request for qualifications, or RFQ. With an offered fee of $50,000 the RFQ drew no takers.
The RFQ was reissued, offering a $75,000 fee. Two companies responded. One application was incomplete and the other applicant was not sufficiently specialized.
“What we found, in parallel, was Power Options,” Piermarini said. “They’re a nonprofit, and they have a special [statute] that allows them to offer solar to municipalities…In any case, we can use them to contract solar without going to an RFP,” the request for proposals process.
Town officials are reviewing the legalities of the contract with Power Options. Solect, which bills itself as the largest municipal solar provider in the commonwealth, is the provider for Power Options. Solect is looking for an estimate of electrical usage in the new building, which the architect, project manager and engineer do not have- — but among his connections Piermarini found a firm, Resource Innovation, that may generate those calculations.
A key design consideration for the solar array is the need to meet the energy consumption of the town’s public safety departments and spend down the maximum available in grant monies. MVP grants may be available for $50,000 in design costs and up to $700,000 for photovoltaic installations. The intent to generate enough power to run the public safety departments, especially with the coming transition to electric vehicles, also prompted an expansion of the project to include a roofed carport with solar panels over the parking.
“We discussed having panels on the east and west roofs,” Guzowski said. “The question is, can we match the output from those three roofs to the demands of the building? [That] basically means we need a solar carport, maybe not a big solar carport, or a freestanding one, though the designers sound like they’re going to try to incorporate all the elements.”
Piermarini agreed. “They’re going to come with some draft concepts, and we’re going to have to see what the end users and the committee think...Ultimately, I hope we land on something solid.”
While the Selectboard waits for Town Counsel to vet the Power Options contract, Piermarini’s committee is in the middle of another major piece of energy business, securing a contract for energy aggregation. The town contracted with Colonial Power Group to buy energy in bulk and sell it to residents for less than the standard National Grid price.
According to Piermarini, the town’s three year aggregation contract with Colonial Power ended in January, a tough time to secure a reasonable rate. The Russian war in Ukraine created a spike in energy demands. Prices may have peaked at the end of 2022, fortunately, so Piermarini thinks a lower rate may be possible.
“Everyone is opted in and everybody in the town, at any point in time, can choose to opt out,” Piermarini said. “So Colonial…acts as a broker and gives Williamsburg…the chance to beat the price, and sometimes exceed the minimum standards for green energy.”
The contract that ended in January featured a rate of 20.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The committee chair sees a rate of 13 to 14 cents per kwh as a possibility. That would bring residents a drop in electricity costs of almost 40%. If that rate can be captured the town will sign new contracts with Colonial Power and a supply company prior to November, when the contract with the town’s current supplier lapses.
The committee also succeeded in securing a Municipal Energy Technical Assistance grant from the state Green Communities program. The retro-commissioning work on the Anne T. Dunphy School will realign system operations that may have migrated, through use, to a less than optimal state. A scoping grant from National Grid was also secured for the Meekins Library and the Dunphy school, which will give the town funding to analyze the shells of those buildings, weatherization and insulation.
“It’s an exciting time,” Piermarini said. “Our committee’s packed with professionals who do this for a living, so I hope the town and the residents see us as a good valuable resource, especially as we get some success stories under our belt in the weeks and months ahead.”