HADLEY — Hadley’s capped landfill along the Connecticut River off Cemetery Road continues to be the focus for a potential 2-megawatt solar array project, even with uncertainty about how the town will cover the costs to submit an application to Eversource and complete various engineering work.
While Michael Docter, a member of the town’s Climate Change Committee, informed the Select Board Wednesday that financial projections show such a project would generate $2 million in savings and actual income for Hadley over the 25- to 30-year life of the panels, there is no immediate means for the town to pay the $12,750 in upfront costs.
Town Administrator Carolyn Brennan said options being explored include having an article on the special Town Meeting warrant in the fall, or seeking a reserve fund transfer from the Finance Committee.
Docter, who has been researching solar on the landfill, said an application has to be made to Eversource, which will determine what’s needed to accommodate the town’s project, and several other large photovoltaic projects being proposed in Hadley. That could include improvements to a substation.
“From that they will determine what needs to happen to the grid,” Docter said.
The utility, he said, will divide up the costs of the upgrades based on the size of each photovoltaic system being proposed.
Previously, Everosurce required a low-cost preapplication process and the town was working with Pascal Werlin of Solar Design Associates for this initial step, at a cost of around $1,000.
Docter cautioned that the application only gets Hadley in the queue for using the 14-acre former landfill site, and no immediate build out. “We’re several years off,” Docter said.
Select Board Chairwoman Molly Keegan said a more formal analysis and presentation should happen before any decisions are made, which could come at the board’s July 24 meeting.
Keegan wondered if it might be better to have a private partner do the project; but Docter said the federal Inflation Reduction Act allows towns to pursue projects on their own and get all the benefits. Docter said there is a 30% tax credit as a municpality, as well as every watt of energy produced on the landfill and to benefit the town provides an extra “adder” of a few pennies that comes back to the town.
“There’s substantial economic advantages that the town has over other solar installers that are making good amounts of money on installing large solar systems,” Docter said.
Select Board member David J. Fill II said long-term ownership by the town will be more beneficial than leasing or having a private developer use the landfill.
“It would be nice to get it in the works,” Fill said.
In other business, the Select Board agreed to a request from Building Commissioner Tom Quinlan and Fire Chief Mike Spanknebel to add a $100 late fee to inspection fees that remain unpaid after 90 days. That will be added to an existing $50 late fee.
Spanknebel said the idea is to ensure payments for inspections are made more promptly and that inspections are completed. The concern, he said, is that certain businesses, like restaurants, don’t get inspections and then have to be shut down, which can cost the town even more in revenue from meals tax.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
