News & Press

Easthampton landfill solar project OK'd

Daily Hampshire Gazette

July 22, 2011

EASTHAMPTON - A plan to install a 2-megawatt, 9,620-panel solar array on the capped Oliver Street landfill is on schedule to start construction in September, making it the most advanced project of its kind in Hampshire County. The project could be on line by March. With the Planning Board's recent approval of the proposal, the project managers are now working with the Western Massachusetts Electric Co. and the state Department of Environmental Protection to get both organizations to sign off on the project.

The project which Mayor Michael Tautznik claims could save the city an estimated $100,000 annually, will be constructed at no cost to the city by Borrego Solar Systems Inc. of Lowell.

With support from the Department of Environmental Protection, municipalities across the state are considering or already constructing solar arrays on capped landfills as a way to increase renewable energy use, reduce municipal energy costs and utilize the protected land.

Not everyone is in favor of using former landfill land. In 2009, neighbors of the capped landfill on Loudville Road were so vocally opposed to any possible solar energy generation on the landfill that they convinced the City Council to amend the creation of a solar energy overlay zoning district to exclude the Loudville Road landfill. In Amherst, opponents of a similar project are currently suing the town because they claim the land was supposed to be preserved only for recreation as part of a 1989 grant the town received to cap the landfill.

Tautznik said only one neighbor of the Oliver Street landfill attended the July 12 public hearing on the special permit for the installation of the solar panels. He said the woman's only concern was if the project would require any tree removal.

City Planner Stuart Beckley said the Planning Board unanimously approved the permit at the July 12 meeting with four conditions: the plans were approved only as presented, and cannot be significantly changed; no trees should be removed, except to create an access road to the installation; the applicant needs to provide proof of insurance at the time the building permit is issued; and the applicant, Borrego, assumes all liability for any site damage.

Beckley said the last condition was the most important to a lot of people who worry about the possible effects if the cap of the landfill is breached during construction. "The big thing everyone is concerned about is the cap," he said. "There's a layer of rubber a couple of feet under the ground and if it was damaged it would need to be replaced immediately."

Since the Planning Board's approval, Borrego has concentrated on finalizing its Landfill Post-Closure Use permit with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Joseph Harrison, senior project developer at Borrego, said the permit application is "on the final yard lines."

"They've verbally approved it, there are no big issues remaining," Harrison said of the DEP from his office in Lowell. "Now we're just going back and forth on the exact language in the permit and what they're going to require. We hope to have it in hand by the end of next week."

An Interconnection Agreement with WMECO is also in the works and expected to be signed soon, Harrison said. He said WMECO accepted the project application in April and has since completed a study to determine how the electricity from the array would be connected to the grid. "The results of the study were positive. Now we're just working with them to see what type of protective gear they're going to require, so that's also in the final stages," he said.

The study showed that, in order to connect the solar panels to the grid, a number of utility poles will need to be added or replaced along a one-mile stretch, including on Torrey Street and Clark Lane.

Another permit application has been filed with ISO New England, the Holyoke corporation that oversees the area's large-scale power generation and transmission.

Harrison said if there are no hold-ups with permits, Borrego will begin construction in September and complete it by the end of the year. When the system is finished, it has to undergo inspections and reviews to ensure it is safe and in compliance with all permits, Harrison said. He hopes to finally "flip the switch" on the system in March 2012.

As part of the deal Tautznik inked with Borrego, the city will not pay a penny for the installation or maintenance of the solar array. Borrego will lease the property and build the $20 million array in exchange for an agreement that Easthampton will purchase all the electricity produced at a discounted rate of 6 cents per kilowatt hour.

The city stands to save more money through a net metering agreement with WMECO that allows the city to sell excess electricity back to the electric company at the retail rate, which is currently 9 cents per kilowatt hour.

When the 10-year contract with Borrego ends in 2021, the city has three options: purchase the system, discontinue the lease or continue the arrangement for another five to 10 years.

The project is a great example of the public and private sectors working together to create something that otherwise would be nearly impossible, Tautznik said. "They have the expertise and can do the work, and without the financial incentives for building it, it would be very difficult for them to build," he said. "We're all getting the right kind of assistance."

Other local municipalities, including Amherst, Northampton and Deerfield, are in various planning stages and construction is under way on a capped landfill in Greenfield.

Tautznik said the project is just one part of Easthampton's commitment to renewable energy and environmental consciousness. "We're a green community, sincerely," he said. "I'm meeting with someone about getting LED streetlights, next."

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