Energy Aggregation Committee — February 18, 2026

This was a productive working session focused on public outreach planning and ordinance FAQ refinement, with no formal dissent, no contentious votes, and only mild underlying tensions surfaced by the FOIA request disclosure and commercial solar definition ambiguity.

Date Wednesday, February 18, 2026 Duration 1.2h Speakers 6 Public comments 1 Decisions 4 Routine

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📋 Sunapee Energy Aggregation Committee — Meeting Recap, Feb 18, 2026

This was a working session, not a flashpoint — but two issues deserve public attention before the committee's March 3 informational meeting at the library.

**The $1.3M solar project is drawing public scrutiny.** A member of the public has filed a FOIA request seeking all contracts and proposals from the solar vendor 'Revision,' with a specific question: how much of the $1.3 million wastewater treatment plant solar project is going toward grid connection costs? That's a targeted question, and it suggests at least some residents aren't satisfied with what's been disclosed so far. The committee noted the request and discussed uncertainty around federal investment tax credits — which, if reduced or eliminated, would affect the project's financial case — but did not offer a detailed public cost breakdown at this meeting.

**The solar ordinance has a gap that the committee acknowledged.** The new FAQ being prepared for public outreach doesn't clearly define where permitted 'secondary' solar use ends and prohibited 'primary commercial' solar use begins. Doug Kogan of Clean Energy NH flagged this directly, saying it 'begs the question of where do you draw the line.' The committee's answer is to rely on Planning Board discretion through the site plan review process — which means the standard will be set case by case, not written into the ordinance itself. That's worth watching.

On ridgeline protection, a Planning Board representative said existing steep slope rules (restricting development on 15–35% grades) already safeguard visually sensitive areas. The characterization was 'a happy medium' — neither maximally restrictive nor permissive. Whether those protections are sufficient is a question residents can bring to the March 3 public meeting (4:30–5:45 PM, Sunapee library activity room). A possible second session at LSPA on Saturday, March 7 is also being explored. These are your opportunities to ask questions directly — about costs, about the ordinance, and about what 'protected' actually means for Sunapee's landscape.

Feb 18, 2026 1.2h long 6 speakers 1 public comments 4 decisions Routine

❝ Notable statements ↔ Drag to browse

“The ordinance is clear that [commercial solar] should not be the primary purpose. But it sort of begs the question of where do you draw the line between primary and secondary use”

— Doug Kogan (Clean Energy NH) · Identifying gaps in the solar ordinance FAQ that need clarification about commercial solar limitations 11:24

“We currently don't have anything, so we need to start somewhere. We could have gone more robust. We could have gone less robust. They felt this was a happy medium”

— Allison (Planning Board) · Explaining the Planning Board's approach to developing the solar ordinance 16:49

“I thought both of the handouts were very well worded. And I just want to commend you for whoever it was. Great wordsmithing”

— Doug Kogan · Praising the committee's informational materials 09:20

“There's been a FOIA request for all of the contracts and proposals from revision and asking questions about how much of the 1.3 million is for connection to the grid”

— Betty · Reporting on public information requests related to the wastewater treatment plant solar project 43:38

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