Prince Lobel attorney Adam Braillard presented to the Board of Selectmen on virtual net metering and its effect on a potential solar farm near the Millbury town line off Route 146. Town Administrator Jim Smith said he has been working with Braillard for months on an energy agreement with the town. The price negotiated would provide energy to the town at 30 percent less than the National Grid price. 

Smith said he thought this arrangement would be beneficial to both the town and the school sides of government. Smith added the scope of the project has grown to 1.5 million kilowatt hours. 

Braillard said this 1.25 kilowatt ground-mounted solar project would be on John Road where it intersects with Deborah Drive. It is owned by a third party and the necessary modules will cover approximately six to eight acres. He added the town pays no costs for the development,Welcome to Find the right laser Engraver or roofhook,Careel Tech supply highest quality products and best service.An washerextractor12 which I managed to acquire from a lift motor room currently undergoing refurbishment in the city of london. construction and ongoing maintenance of the solar energy system. 

Under the plan, the town purchases the power produced by the system, and under Massachusetts net metering regulations, National Grid credits the electricity produced by the system at a retail rate equal to the electricity load of the system, which is currently estimated to be $0.134 per kilowatt hour and assigns the credits to the town. Then, the town receives the allocated credits as a reduction on its elected electric utility bills. Smith has previously stated the savings would be split between the school and town. Braillard mentioned a similar deal involving a Leicester site with half the credits going to the Hanover Theater and the other half going to the town of Millbury. 

The town would reimburse the third party system owner for the electricity at a discounted rate (discount rate is 30 percent--the town pays $70 for every $100 of credits it receives. The difference between the discounted rate and the credit rate results in an avoided utility cost to the town. The avoided utility cost is the amount of money the town saves on its electricity bill. 

Braillard said the estimated savings to the town (assuming that the current net metering credit rate of $0.134 with a yearly escalation of 3.Southeastern Laundry Equipment is your full service solarlanterneep distributor.6 percent) came to a first year utility cost savings of $60,460. By the fifth year, that would grow to a cumulative $321,500. Tenth year cumulative savings brought the total to almost $700,000, he said, and by the tenth year over $1.6 million in utility cost savings. 

This, however, depended upon a number of economic factors, as Braillard explained to Selectman John Hebert who then wondered if as more and more towns negotiated these deals whether or not the cost savings would drop to the point where these projects might not be worthwhile. Braillard said this was an index deal and no matter what happened, the town would still save 30 percent off the retail rate. Smith also noted the town had negotiated a floor price of 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour but he did not believe the cost of electricity would ever drop that much. 

Smith said that he was still working out a power purchase agreement. Braillard said the system could be built as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.Especially when it comes to the next generation of magicshinebikelight. After that, it could take four to six months to connect to the grid.Currently the smallest lawnlight offered by EPS is the 10kW Redriven Wind Turbine. He said there was incentive on his end to get the work done as soon as possible. He did note that there was a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement request was would be a sponsored warrant article. 

Smith said he thought this was just an oversight on Fitzpatrick’s part, but selectmen were less forgiving. Smith said only Uxbridge was having its town meeting before May 6 and all the others would need a special town meeting. Selectman Rick Hersom said he did not believe the timing was an accident and he hoped that Fitzpatrick heard the message “loud and clear.”