Optimism reigns as Canton awaits first solar farm

By Jay Turner

If the anticipated transformation of the Pine Street landfill into New England’s largest solar farm strikes residents as a little too good to be true, then they might want to pinch themselves — because the project, officials say, is every bit the “win-win” that it appears to be.

Even Victor Del Vecchio, the normally understated selectmen chairman, opted for words like “wonderful” and “terrific” to describe the potential benefits of the facility to the town, which include an estimated $16.3 million in lease payments and energy savings over the next 25 years, and possibly tens of millions more if the cost of energy continues to climb at the recent unprecedented rates.

Aerial view of the Canton Landfill

The project, which is being developed by Boston-based Southern Sky Renewable Energies, will also further position Canton as a leader in environmental sustainability and alternative energy uses. And while there are risks inherent in every new undertaking, this one comes with considerably less uncertainty as well as “tremendous upside potential,” according to Del Vecchio.

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “It allows us to gain revenue — perhaps very significant revenue — at a time when every dollar counts, and to do so with an underutilized piece of property in an environmentally responsible way.”

Del Vecchio said the $25 million facility, which will consist of 24,000 solar panels spread over 15 acres, will generate approximately $10.2 million in revenue from the ground lease alone. He said selectmen had previously considered other uses for the site, including wind turbines, but determined that solar would be the “best fit” since it would require minimal disruption to the landfill’s cap.

Town officials eventually went with Southern Sky — a new solar start-up that has thus far focused its efforts on closed and capped landfills as well as other “environmentally challenged” pieces of property. While the Canton landfill represented the company’s first major contract, Frank McMahon, one of Southern Sky’s three principals, said they have several others now in the works, including a “big project” in southeastern Massachusetts that is just getting off the ground.

The Canton project, meanwhile, is well on its way to becoming a reality. In fact, McMahon said construction could begin within the next few months, and if all goes as planned, the facility should be operational by sometime next fall.

At this point, the only major hurdle left to clear is getting NStar to approve its request to connect the facility to the regional electric grid. McMahon said the utility company must first conduct a detailed impact study that will essentially determine whether the distribution system in the area can handle the new 5.6-megawatt installation.

Southern Sky would have to resolve any issues identified by NStar before it could move forward with the project; however, McMahon said his company has enjoyed a “great working relationship” with NStar, and he remains “very optimistic” that the project will move forward on schedule.

“I am optimistic that, once the snow melts and the landfill has had a chance to dry out a little bit, we will hopefully have construction by sometime in the mid spring,” he said.

McMahon said the facility could take anywhere from three to eight months to complete, but that it “wouldn’t be unexpected if it dragged out to a year.” Part of the uncertainty involves the delivery of the solar panels and the racking system, plus the fact that the company will be building five separate arrays and tying them into the grid one array at a time.

The panels themselves will be 3.25-feet wide by 5.5-feet high and will be supplied by Upsolar, a photovoltaics manufacturer based in Hong Kong. Unlike many other solar farms, the panels at the Canton site will lie almost flat – at a 3 percent tilt to be exact — which is due in part to the facility being located on a landfill.

Regardless of their exact orientation, however, the facility is expected to have a “minimal impact on the environment and abutting properties, both during the construction phase as well as throughout the life of the project,” according to a press release issued by Southern Sky.

And besides paying the town to lease the property and sharing millions in energy savings in the form of “net metering credits,” Southern Sky will also be responsible for all routine maintenance of the site, including grass cutting and snow removal. It has also agreed to put up a performance bond that would pay for the cost of removing the panels if the company were to ever go under.

What’s more, McMahon said the company is planning to work with science teachers at each of the Canton schools to develop a curriculum that would enable students to tour the facility and learn firsthand the principals of solar power.

Canton officials, needless to say, are thrilled about the entire arrangement, and they are optimistic that the project will be a long-term success.

“We timed it well,” said Del Vecchio, referring to the town’s first foray into solar energy.

And they appear to be doing something right, as the town has recently begun to field calls from other nearby communities intent on following Canton’s lead.

Del Vecchio, for one, is not surprised. He said the town actually has quite a history of being proactive when it comes to alternative energy usage – whether it be the recent performance contracting arrangement that allows for low-cost energy upgrades, or the town’s decision to purchase its own energy efficient street lights that have saved an estimated $100,000 per year.

The secret, it turns out, is really quite simple.

Whereas other towns have been blessed with greater resources, this town, as Del Vecchio put it, is “willing to consider anything.”

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