2021-04-08-SLC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of April 8, 2021 • Confirmed that working with Sunwealth on this program does not prevent the Town from supporting other similar programs in the future (Paul Gromer noted that he's not aware of any other programs as generous as Sunwealth's) • During outreach to residents, consider partnering on outreach with Human Services, LexHAB, Housing Authority, any others with experience and credibility with the income-eligible population • Ensure that Town Counsel has reviewed the contract, and assess whether there any long-term liabilities, or is a resident truly off the hook if they drop out Additional discussion explored Sunwealth's business, their enrollment capacity, whether they develop or co-develop the solar projects (they do both), their timeline (they ideally want to complete the Waltham sign-up by July, but it's not essential), etc. The committee voted unanimously to endorse the Sunwealth program in concept, subject to legal review and the provision of additional clarity in response to questions raised. Stella Carr identified that she is in discussions with Paul Gromer to identify how a community solar program could be integrated into the Community Choice Program. 2. AMP Solar Development. The representatives from AMP provided an overview of their project: a 4.6 MW solar facility located in Sandwich, MA. AMP is looking for a single municipality to be the offtaker for the project(i.e., to purchase the capacity of the development) with a 20-year commitment. They could work with multiple municipalities, but their preference is to work with a single entity. The municipality(ies) would benefit from the solar energy credits. For Lexington, the benefit would be about$63,000 in the first year and about $1.6 million over 20 years. During the discussion, the following points were raised: • AMP is a solar developer and owner/operator. They have 19 Community Solar projects across the US and 12 active projects in Massachusetts (40% anchors, 60% for residents —like the Sunwealth project) • The project is being built in Sandwich, MA. It is an 18.8-acre site of which about 11 acres has been cleared for the solar array (10,374 modules). The site will include a wooded buffer around the array, and they play to plant native plants and pollinator-friendly crops around the array. At the end of the useful life of the facility, the leased land will return to Sandwich. • Project is focused on public entities in the Eversource East region. Alternative On-Bill Credits (AOBC) —a monetary credit, not a volumetic credit. • The Town would receive a 10% discount on the purchase of solar credits that the solar farm produces. AMP is offering a direct credit based on the Eversource basic service rate. • The solar farm is a B33 rate class (small business and lighting). This project is in Block 5 for the capacity. • The Town uses about 11 million kWh per year. The solar farm will produce 5.7 million kWh. 2.