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Town prepares to accept bids for solar array

Date: 12/23/2010

Dec. 27, 2010

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

LONGMEADOW -- The town of Longmeadow is seeking proposals for a large-scale solar array to be placed on the town's closed landfill.

A unanimous vote at the Oct. 26 special town meeting approved an amendment to a zoning bylaw that cleared the way for the town to move forward with the project. The bylaw change will allow a ground-mounted solar photo-voltaic facility to be built on agricultural land.

At the same meeting, the town voted to approve a cash transfer of $25,000 to be used to properly close and cap the landfill between Bernie and Pondside Roads in preparation for such a project.

The array would most likely span somewhere between 4 and 6 acres of the landfill, which is approximately 16.5 acres.

"The closed landfill site is land that we really can't use for any other purpose, so why not allow a company to come in and use it to create renewable energy", Select Board member Mark Gold said in a town press release. "This is an opportunity to take the remaining steps to finalize the closure of the former landfill site. It will cost some money in engineering expenses and site preparation, but it is anticipated that we will get our investment back in the short run through lease income and savings on electricity."

All proposals submitted to the town will be required to outline a plan for the installation and the operation of the facility. The town will have no part in the construction, upkeep or eventual dismantling of the solar array.

The town is specifically looking for a plan that will include a 25-year lease between the company operating the facility and a Power Purchase Agreement, which would allow the town to buy energy for its municipal buildings at a discounted rate.

At an Oct. 6 Planning Board meeting, Gold used Greenfield as an example of a town that is taking advantage of such an arrangement, stating that it is paying one cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while Longmeadow currently pays 11 cents per kWh.

Gold added at the meeting that the town's municipal buildings used 6 million kWh last year and a solar array can offer the town approximately 2 million kWh per year, or 33 percent of the total energy needed.

Proposals should also include the possibility of the town getting Massachusetts Solar-Renewable Energy Credits.

According to Select Board Chair Robert Aseltine, the proposals will be read and evaluated by a project team that will include a member of the Select Board, the town manager and "a couple of DPW administrators."

"Then we can evaluate the economics of the initiative, based on what we see from the proposals," Aseltine said.

There will be a pre-proposal conference on Jan. 18 at 3 p.m., which interested parties are encouraged to attend.

All submissions must be turned into the town's procurement manager, Chad Thompson, by Feb. 17 at noon. All documents needed for the proposal can be found on the Purchasing Department's page on town's Web site, http://www.long-meadow.org/towngovt/purchasing.html.

Thompson did not return phone calls requesting comment by press time.

For additional information on the potential solar array, residents may visit http://www.long-meadow.org/Solar/index.html , which includes details on the bylaw changes and frequently asked questions.



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