Municipal Solar Array Expansion

The Municipal Solar Array Expansion issue arose in early 2026 when the Energy Committee began presenting plans for arrays at the Stump Dump and Mountain Road landfill sites.

On April 9 the select board approved a $6,692.90 reserve fund allocation to support infrastructure work at the Stump Dump site after the Energy Committee outlined utility line extensions needed from Eversource.

By April 23 the committee reported that initial proposals exceeded budget and recommended waiting for additional lower-cost bids while affirming the projects remained viable.

At the May 19 meeting the board received an update that a vendor had been identified for the Stump Dump array as part of ongoing efforts to advance the installations.

The June 4 meeting featured the most detailed presentation to date with Jamie Hess and Ted Vans describing two 250-panel arrays of approximately 100 kW AC each projected to generate roughly $500,000 in revenue over 30 years and help meet the town's 2030 renewable energy goal.

The board expressed comfort proceeding once Bington Solar resolved insurance language issues and directed the company to file the Eversource interconnection application while the committee was asked to post detailed spreadsheets online.

Throughout the period concerns were noted about monitoring wells at the Mountain Road site interconnection costs and potential effects on Community Power demand but no formal opposition materialized and the process moved forward on a routine track.