A plan to put 6,500 solar panels atop the old city landfill in Bradford remains alive. Mayor James Fiorentini said despite the possibility of solar company SunEdison going bankrupt, the city remains in talks with the company to complete the solar array at the landfill near the Groveland line.
Fiorentini said the rumors of SunEdison’s demise are “exaggerated.”
“They tell me they are going to go forward with the project,” he said.
Earlier this week, the mayor said he and city Purchasing Director, Orlando Pacheco, received an email from SunEdison aimed at implementing a schedule for the project’s groundwork. They are looking to present plans to the city’s Planning Board in July, Fiorentini said.
The 20-year SunEdison agreement was expected to save the city $7.5 million in energy costs, as well as bring in $49,200 a year from SunEdison to lease a capped portion of the landfill, plus an additional $32,800 annually in lieu of taxes.
Whether the state embarks on another Solar Renewable Energy Certificate program, or SREC, will be defining factor in whether or not SunEdison can feasibly get the project onto the landfill. SRECs are a production incentive which the owner of a solar project gets when supplying power to a brokerage market. The money gained is used to help pay the initial cost of building the solar project.
The first SREC program was launched six years ago for 400 megawatts of solar electricity to be generated statewide, with the second SREC coming four years later for 1,600 megawatts, which the state is expected to approach this year.
“I’m absolutely convinced there will be an SREC III. Whether it will be as generous as SREC II remains to be seen,” Fiorentini said. “Both Gov. (Charlie) Baker and the legislature recognize the importance of alternative energy. I’m cautiously optimistic.”
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