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11/20/2017 11:00 PMThe Town of Westbrook has submitted a bid to potentially put a solar energy system on one or more public buildings, delivering valuable savings on its annual electricity bill.
Each year, Eversource and United Illuminating utility companies issue a Request for Proposal, seeking competitive bids for the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s)—if a submitted bid relies on a zero-emission power generation source like solar or wind power, the credit is called a ZREC. In October, the Town of Westbrook submitted a ZREC bid to Eversource that, if awarded, would potentially put solar arrays on one or more town or school buildings.
In September, the town requested bids from firms with experience developing ZREC projects and bids. The Board of Selectmen (BOS) had already earlier this fall selected Murtha Cullina to advise the town on navigating the ZREC process.
The Town received eight responses to its request for ZREC project bids; firms that submitted bids had already participated in a walk-though of possible buildings to assess their potential for a roof-mounted solar panel array. Of those submitting bids, the firm that the Energy Committee recommended to the Board of Selectmen was Forefront Power.
So on Oct. 20, the BOS voted to sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Forefront Power to develop a ZREC project to enter into the fall 2017 Eversource auction. The proposed project is an approximately 810 kW DC solar photovoltaic energy system to be located on the roof of Town Hall, Westbrook High School, Westbrook Middle School, Daisy Ingraham Elementary School, and/or the Westbrook Public Library.
According to the Energy Committee and confirmed by a letter from Town Attorney Michael Wells, the BOS decision to enter into an LOI with Forefront Power would not financially commit the town to complete one or more projects. If the town’s ZREC bid is not chosen in the auction process, the town would not incur any cost; all costs up to that point are the responsibility of bidder, Forefront Power. The town would not face a financial spending choice until it both wins a ZREC from Eversource and has in place a Purchase Power Agreement for the solar electricity the town would produce.
“[The] auction deadline was Oct. 24 and with the assistance of Solomon Energy and Murtha Cullina, Westbrook has entered the auction for these buildings and should hear results of the bid by year’s end. If awarded, the town could see cost avoidance in its electric costs,” said Town of Westbrook Energy Committee Chairman Chris Ehlert.
To date, Eversource has conducted six annual ZREC solicitations. The recent approval of the Connecticut State Budget has curtailed, but not eliminated, the funding available to support ZREC and similar clean energy projects.