Electric Sunshine to tell Canton solar energy story
By Guest
January 11, 2012
Canton Green Team Chairman Kevin Sullivan is pleased to announce the creation of a series of short courses, entitled Electric Sunshine Lights Canton, that will chart the development of two local solar projects — a rooftop solar installation on the Hemenway building on Washington Street and a large, ground-based solar park under construction at the former landfill on Pine Street.
Sullivan said the easy-to-follow and entertaining courses are being developed by Owens & Company, a merchant bank, which has served global energy companies and world governments and institutions since 1974. Sullivan explained that Owens & Company is developing the short courses as a community service to Canton. Charles Owens, chairman of Owens & Company, is a member of the Canton Green Team.
“Canton’s leadership in solar energy could provide momentum for local economic expansion and job growth in clean energy technologies for many years. We call it ‘CanTech,’” Owens said, describing the products and services of the Energy Center he envisions for Canton.
Canton resident Janet Bourikas is developing the short courses on Electric Sunshine under contract with Owens & Company.
“Development of the short course about the solar installation on the Hemenway rooftop is underway with the cooperation of Canton Housing Authority Director Mark Roy and his staff,” Bourikas said. “We will develop the second course about the Pine Street solar park with the cooperation of town government and the developer of the solar park.”
Southern Sky Renewable Energy Canton LLC is the developer. The general contractor is Gemma Renewable Power LLC, which is wholly owned by Argan, Inc. of Rockville, Maryland.
Bourikas said she hopes to involve local teachers in development of the short courses.
“Our target audience is everyone, of course, and especially high school students like the members of Canton’s Green Team Auxiliary,” she said.
The Green Team Auxiliary is made up of Canton High School students who are promoting adoption of the Stretch Energy Code at the upcoming annual town meeting in April. If the Stretch Energy Code is passed, Canton can earn state grants of approximately $150,000 annually. Last year, Easton received $168,000 and Dedham received $179,800 from the state.
Sullivan is a project director with Fuss & O’Neill, a full-service engineering and design firm founded in 1924.
“Our firm proudly participates in the Green Revolution,” Sullivan said. “I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with [Bourikas] to improve everyone’s understanding of these examples of what the Green Revolution can mean to Canton.”
Sullivan added that “Canton’s Green Team is the finest assembly of energy experts in the history of Canton.”
Besides Sullivan and Owens, Green Team members include Bruce Rohr, CEO and president of Practical Solar, Inc. and founder of Cambridge Technology, Inc., and Ed Kodzis, president and CEO of Minglewood Associates Inc., which is headquartered in Canton.
Rohr is a member of the Canton Conservation Commission and is a leader of Voters for the Preservation of Canton, which is campaigning for adoption of the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act (CPA). This proposition will appear on the ballot in the upcoming town election scheduled for April 3.
The CPA enables cities and towns in Massachusetts to create a local dedicated fund for historic preservation, community housing and outdoor recreation projects. Adoption of the CPA will allow the town of Canton to receive funds each year from the state’s Community Preservation Trust Fund to help underwrite local projects. Canton would receive approximately $452,600 annually following acceptance of the CPA.
Canton’s Green Team is appointed by the Board of Selectmen. The team’s mission is to promote initiatives in clean technologies and related services in such areas as solar, wind, recycling and hydroelectricity, and to seek grants for activities that provide opportunities for job growth and expansion of Canton’s leadership in alternative and renewable energy technologies.
Reference in Canton Citizen: Canton recalls top stories of 2011: The year in government
By Jay Turner
January 5, 2012
Besides an eventful town meeting, the past year also saw the town become a leader in alternative energy and “green” technology, punctuated by a 25-year deal with Southern Sky Renewable Energy to build a massive solar farm — reportedly the largest in New England — at the site of the former Pine Street landfill. The project will generate $300,000 per year in lease payments as well as millions more in potential energy savings over the life of the contract. Construction on the project is already underway and it should be completed sometime in 2012.
Boston Globe: “Sun shines on energy project”
By Elaine Cushman Carroll
December 18, 2011
Construction has begun on the largest solar energy farm in New England, which will place about 19,800 photovoltaic panels on the capped landfill near Pine Street. Selectmen chairman John J. Connolly said the project is expected to generate about $9.85 million for the town over the course of a 25-year lease, and result in lower energy costs. The town is leasing the previously unused land to Southern Sky Renewable Energy, which recently worked out the final details of providing power to NStar, Connolly said. “We really don’t have to do anything; we just sit back and lease them the land,” he said. The $16.6 million construction project has been awarded to Gemma Renewable Power. The panels will cover about 12.5 acres of the 40-acre landfill and the facility is expected to be completed by next summer.
Wicked Local: “Solar farm to rise & shine in Canton by summer”
By Ruth Douillette
December 15, 2011
Canton — If the weather cooperates, Canton’s solar farm – the first in Massachusetts – will begin generating electricity by June or July 2012. It also will generate a significant revenue stream for the town.
In March 2010, Canton seized an opportunity to turn 12.5 acres of the capped Pine Street landfill into a solar farm that will bring additional revenue to the town.
Town Administrator Bill Friel said the lease payments for the first year alone would be $300,000. Over the course of the 20-year lease, the solar farm would bring more than $1.9 million into Canton’s coffers.
In addition, Canton will receive energy credits from NSTAR for electricity the farm generates that will be used to offset the electricity costs of schools and municipal buildings.
Friel said that not only is the solar farm environmentally sound in reducing the use of fossil fuels, but it also allows Canton predictability in its energy costs based on the price of electricity, which will be capped below inflationary costs.
Frank McMahon of Southern Sky Renewable Energy (SSRE), the company in charge of the project, said construction began Dec. 5. By early January, the supporting structure for the solar panels, called racking, will be built.
The solar panels will begin arriving on site by the third week in January until a total of 19,800 panels have been installed.
Sometime in early spring, the converters will be connected, before going live sometime in early summer.
“We’re looking to begin operation in June or July. The big issue is the weather,” McMahon said.
“The town is incurring no cost whatsoever,” Friel said. “It’s all managed by Southern Sky. We’re not spending any town money. It’s the perfect equation – only money comes in; none goes out.”
Selectwoman Avril Elkhorn said the money and effort to cap the landfill properly with clean fill back in 1989 paid off well.
Canton Patch: “Canton is Closer to Renewable Energy from Solar Farm”
Canton selectmen received updates on the Solar Farm project Tuesday night.
By Lisa Gentes
December 15, 2011
Get ready for some renewable energy this summer, Canton.
At Tuesday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, the board heard updates on the construction of the town’s renewable energy project. Representatives from Solar Sky Renewable Energy updated the selectmen on the Solar Farm, located on the site of the town’s former landfill on Pine Street.
Preliminary site work has begun on the project, according to Town Administrator Bill Friel.
“We are pleased to be able to” build the largest solar farm in New England, Southern Sky Renewable Energy Attorney Frank McMahon said.
Construction began on the site on December 5, McMahon said. The panels will be delivered to the site in January, he said.
A total of 19,800 solar panels will be used in this project, he noted.
McMahon said he hopes, with good weather, the solar farm will be operational by June or July 2012.
“We’re ready to move forward,” he told the board.
Once the solar farm is completed, it will have the honors of being the first in the state, and the largest of all the solar projects in the Bay State, McMahon noted.
The town is leasing 15 acres of the landfill to SSRE for $20,000 an acre, giving the town $300,000 of lease-generated revenue in the first year of the 20-year pact (there is also a five-year option to make this a potential 25-year deal.) The lease rate increases at a 2.5 percent clip every year, giving the town the opportunity to take in more than $10 million over the course of the deal. Canton stands to make an additional $750,000 over the course of the 25-year period through a rebate agreement.
The construction is paid for by SSRE, and no money from the town is being used for the project or for maintenance, according to Friel.
-Patch Editor Jeffrey Pickette contributed to this report.
Reference in Canton Citizen: “Town negotiates conditions to soften blow of Roseland project”
By Mike Berger
December 14, 2011
Excerpt:
Southern Sky Renewable Energy reported that it has begun construction of the 19,800 solar panels at the former town landfill, and depending on the weather, it could be operational and manufacturing electricity as early as June 2012. Town Administrator Bill Friel said the town will be receiving the first of 25 annual lease payments of $300,000 and an opportunity to save on electrical costs. Every kilowatt manufactured by the solar plant will be sent to NSTAR, and a portion will be given to the town in the form of net metering credits.
FOX 25 News: “Canton Using Landfill for Solar Project”
Associated Press: “Mass. towns putting solar panels on old landfills”
By Steve LeBlanc / Associated Press
February 21, 2011
BOSTON – For decades, Canton residents hauled their trash to the local landfill. Then, 25 years ago, it was capped, covered with a lining and buried under a layer of soil and grass.
The land lay unused until last year, when the town decided to turn the former dump into what officials say will be the largest solar array in New England.
Across the state, dozens of other cash-strapped communities are also hoping to install solar panels on their landfills. Massachusetts, which requires utilities to purchase a percentage of power from renewable sources, is hoping to spark a national trend.
Victor Del Vecchio, chairman of Canton’s Board of Selectmen, said the town began accepting bids for the solar project last year after it decided that plunking panels on the landfills made sense. He said that over the next 25 years, the projects could generate up to $70 million for the town from a combination of new revenues and energy savings.
“From our perspective, it’s a no-brainer,” he said.
Southern Sky Renewable Energy, the company that plans to install the 24,000 three-foot by five-foot panels, is also hoping to cash in. The panels are expected to generate up to 5.6 megawatts of power by 2012, making it the largest installation in the region.
Southern Sky Managing Director Frank McMahon said the project is the company’s first on a landfill.
“We’re hoping to start construction in late spring, based on snow and a final agreement with NStar,” said McMahon, referring to the utility that will buy the power.
The key to the project’s finances is the state’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificates program, established to help the state reach a goal of producing 250 megawatts of solar power by 2017. The state is currently producing about 76 megawatts.
Massachusetts requires utilities to purchase at least 6 percent of their power from new renewable energy sources in order to boost the state’s reliance on “green” energy. Solar renewable energy certificates are one way of helping increase those energy sources.
Under the program, solar projects generate one solar credit for each megawatt hour. Those credits are then sold at auction to utilities that need them to help meet their renewable goals.
To guarantee the value of the credits, the state sets a minimum of about $285 for each credit, although the price can rise as high as $550.
A one megawatt project can produce about 1,140 megawatt hours of power a year. If those 1,140 credits were auctioned at the minimum of $285 each, that would translate into nearly $325,000 in credits annually.
Energy Secretary Richard Sullivan said the certificate program puts Massachusetts ahead of other states.
“There is an enhanced value for producing solar energy,” Sullivan said. “It really makes Massachusetts the leader.”
GetSolar: “Solar Power Gains Popularity in Massachusetts”
Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 | By GetSolar Staff
Another large-scale solar project is in the planning stages, too. This one, developed by Boston-based Southern Sky Renewable Energy, will be even larger than Springfield’s – it’s expected to produce 5.6 megawatts of energy.
Coincidentally, Southern Sky’s proposed solar plant is also slated to be built on a landfill. It will be erected in the town of Canton and is expected to include 24,000 panels.
Canton official John J. Connolly called the proposed project a win-win. Not only will town residents have access to clean, carbon-free solar energy, but electric utility NStar will be able to buy the power the array generates. Massachusetts utilities have to purchase 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, and the Canton project will help NStar achieve compliance with that mandate.
In addition, Connolly told the Boston Globe, the town will get to collect property tax on land that would otherwise lie unused. “The land was just going to sit there forever,” he was quoted as saying. “This is a no-brainer.”
Solar Industry Magazine: “Southern Sky Renewable Energy Plans 5.6 MW PV Project”
by SI Staff on Tuesday 01 February 2011
Southern Sky Renewable Energy (SSRE), a Boston-based developer of utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects, says it has been granted access to a currently closed, town-owned Canton, Mass., landfill and plans to develop a 5.6 MW solar photovoltaic facility on the site.
SSRE has been granted a post-closure use permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.The company has also filed an interconnection application with NSTAR.
The Canton Board of Selectmen has granted final approval to the project, and the construction timetable is approximately six to nine months after a successful interconnection agreement is negotiated with NSTAR, the company says.
The solar arrays will consist of approximately 24,000 photovoltaic modules that will be configured in abutting groups of 10 parcels. Energy will be collected via electrical conduit to a load center and transformer, whereby the transformer will send the equivalent kilovolt-amps into the NSTAR distribution system.
Boston Globe: “Canton dump may soon be a solar powerhouse”
By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff / January 31, 2011
A Canton landfill closed for more than two decades will soon be transformed into New England’s largest solar electric development, officials are expected to announce today.
Approximately 24,000 solar panels installed across 15 acres — think 11 football fields — would be able to power more than 750 homes, its developers said.
The project, which is expected to open in the fall pending one last regulatory hurdle, would be three times larger than any other solar facility up and running in New England, according to state energy officials.
Associated Press: “Company plans largest solar energy array in NE”
Jan 31, 2011
A Boston-based renewable energy company is pledging to open the region’s biggest solar power array on a former landfill in Canton.
Officials at Southern Sky Renewable Energy said Monday that the 5.6 megawatt solar photovoltaic facility will be the largest of its kind in New England when completed.
The company said it’s already received final approval from the Canton Board of Selectmen and is negotiating a distribution agreement with NStar.
Once that’s completed it should take about six to nine months to build the facility. The company said the solar panels will have minimal impact on the environment and neighboring properties.
Massachusetts Secretary of Energy Richard Sullivan said the plant will generate enough electricity to power more than 750 homes.
PRESS RELEASE: “CANTON, MA LANDFILL, NOW CLOSED, WILL BECOME HOME TO NEW ENGLAND’S LARGEST SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECT”
January 31, 2011
CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Southern Sky Renewable Energy LLC, a growing solar energy developer based in Boston, has been granted access to the currently closed, town-owned Canton, MA landfill and plans to develop a 5.6 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic facility on the site. The project is expected to be New England’s largest solar electric development.
Read the full press releaseArticle in the Canton Citizen – November 18, 2010
Excerpt from “Residential, commercial tax rates to increase” by Mike Berger:
“More good financial news came from the signed agreement between the town and Southern Sky Renewable Energy for the company to build a solar electrical farm at the capped formed landfill. The town will receive a minimum of $600,000 annually in lease revenue and discounts and rebates in town electrical costs over 25 years.”
Article from Canton Patch – November 17, 2010
“Board of Selectmen Hoping to Strike Gold with Solar Farm”
The board approved contract for solar farm to be developed on Pine Street landfill
By Jeffrey Pickette, November 17, 2010
The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a contract for the development of a solar farm at the Pine Street landfill Tuesday night, while also unanimously giving the Department of Public Works the green light to complete a final design plan for renovations at that department’s Bolivar Street complex.
Southern Sky Renewable Energy (SSRE) will install and pay for more than 24,000 solar panels at the landfill, which if successful, can create considerable revenue for Canton, in addition to reducing the town’s energy costs.
The town will lease 15 acres of the landfill to SSRE for $20,000 an acre, giving the town $300,000 of lease-generated revenue in the first year of the 20-year pact (there is also a five-year option to make this a potential 25-year deal). The lease rate increases at a 2.5 percent clip every year, giving the town the opportunity to take in more than $10 million over the course of the deal. Canton stands to make an additional $750,000 over the course of the 25-year period through a rebate agreement.
SSRE ultimately sells the generated electricity to NSTAR. Currently Canton pays 17.1 cents per kilowatt hour of energy, but under the deal with SSRE, Canton will pay 16 cents, with a graduated rate increase of four percent. In his presentation, Friel stressed that the cost of electricity has doubled since 1990, when it was just 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Representatives from SSRE argued that this deal “protects the town from these unusual spikes in energy [costs] that we’ve had over time.”
When they ultimately voted to approve the contract, Selectmen Chairman Victor Del Vecchio and Selectmen Clerk Bob Burr both questioned if locking the town in to paying a fixed energy rate was in the best interest of the town, citing concerns over what would happen if energy costs instead decreased over the life of the contract.
But, ultimately the B.O.S. decided the upside of this deal outweighed any potential risks. The town can generate anywhere from $600,000 to as much as $3 million in revenue and cost savings per year.
“I think this is a good deal,” Del Vecchio said. “I think this is what we’re supposed to be doing, which is enhancing our revenues at a time when we have limited opportunities to enhance our revenues.”
The solar farm will also use a landfill that has been capped since 1989, which as the B.O.S. and Friel pointed out, is currently an unproductive asset for the town.
“God speed, do well and make us rich,” Del Vecchio told SSRE after the B.O.S. approved the execution of the lease and the net metering agreement with the company.
Article in the Canton Citizen – October 21, 2010
“Here comes the sun”
Canton company embraces solar energy;
town hopes to do the same
By Jeffrey Pickette
Citizen Staff
Sika Sarnafil, a Canton roofing manufacturer, took part of the roof at its Dan Road facility and transformed it into a solar park, turning an otherwise unproductive and costly entity into an asset for the company. The solar park will displace about 37 percent of the facility’s electricity use, according to a press release from the company, which is enough electricity to power about 25 homes.
The company, which specializes in thermoplastic roofing and waterproofing membranes, inaugurated the first phase of the solar park last Wednesday, on what was appropriately a bright and sunny day. The first phase consists of two separate 12,500-square-foot arrays of solar panels.
While Sika Sarnafil is being praised for embracing alternative energy sources in the private sector, the town of Canton is hoping to follow suit with an unrelated solar-based project of its own. As detailed at the last selectmen’s meeting, the town is in talks with Southern Sky Renewable Energy (SSRE) about turning half of the Pine Street landfill into a solar farm, complete with more than 24,000 solar panels.
Like Sika Sarnafil, this proposed project will be making use of an “unproductive asset” — a landfill that was capped in 1989 — and turning it into a “revenue generator” for the town, according to Selectmen Chairman Victor Del Vecchio.
“I think this [potential] agreement represents a wonderful opportunity for the town to generate revenue at a time when every dollar counts,” Del Vecchio said. “In addition, we’ll be enjoying a reduction in our energy costs to boot, and that’s truly a win-win situation.”
The potential agreement between the town and SSRE would be for 20 years. SSRE would install (and pay for) the panels and then sell the generated electricity to NSTAR. Del Vecchio estimates the town will make about $7 or $8 million of revenue over the course of the deal.
As reported in last week’s Citizen, if the negotiations go according to plan, this solar farm could be up and running by July. Del Vecchio said the parties are negotiating “in good faith” and he was “cautiously optimistic” that an agreement will be in place by year’s end.
Cost savings and energy savings are certainly benefits of Sika Sarnafil’s solar park, but another purpose of this park is to help the company test which type of solar technology is most efficient. Essentially, the company is using its own roof to conduct a large-scale science experiment.
There are currently two different types of arrays on the roof of the company’s building, taking up about a quarter of the 120,000-square-foot roof. The plan is to double the size of the park next year in the second phase of the project, adding a third and fourth unique solar array, according to Brian Whelan, senior vice president of Sika Sarnafil.
“We want to learn as much as we possibly can because we’re finding that one type of solar system doesn’t work everywhere,” Whelan said. “Every roof is different, the slope of the roof is different, the climate is different around the country. Our thought process was why not use our own building, our own roof, to learn…We wanted to get more experience so that we can educate our customers about the advantages of these different types of solar systems.”
Even though the park is on the company’s roof, Sika Sarnafil does not technically own these solar arrays; they are instead “hosting” them. Connecticut-based Greenskies Renewable Energy “capitalized, designed, engineered and installed” both arrays, according to a press release from Sika Sarnafil. So, Sika Sarnafil is experiencing the benefits of solar energy, but did not pay for the project. The company simply buys the energy produced from these solar panels at a discounted rate from Greenskies.
The efficiency of a solar energy system is naturally based upon the strength of the sun’s rays. The solar panels would collect more energy on a clear and sunny day than if it was overcast.
“That is one of the challenges with solar [energy],” Whelan said. “That is one of the reasons why it is more frequently used in the southern part of the country and in California because you get more sunshine than you do here in the northeast.”
But even so, Whelan said there are other factors to consider like cost of energy. If energy costs are high (like they are in Massachusetts), Whelan said solar energy is still a “wise investment.”
Whelan sees the roof as a “nice platform for solar” and would even like to see other private and public buildings in town make use of similar clean energy technology.
“There’s no question that roofing and solar [technology] are going to become more integrated for building construction,” he said.
October 21, 2010