Rutland Herald: Poultney residents get solar farm sales pitch

Reposted from the Rutland Herald.
POULTNEY — A local nonprofit group advocating for local renewable energy projects hopes to motivate residents to consider constructing a small-scale community solar project in Rutland County.

Representatives of Energize Vermont held an informational meeting with local residents at Poultney High School on Wednesday about the possibility of building a community solar farm in Rutland County that would be owned by and benefit local residents.

“We want to see renewable energy developed in Vermont,” said Lukas Snelling, executive director of Energize Vermont. “We are looking to have these conservations around the state. We are not a developer, we facilitate the conversation.”

Snelling and his organization are proposing the construction of a 150-kilowatt solar farm in Rutland County that would be owned by resident stakeholders and would benefit them in the long run. He called it a “people-powered model” for renewable energy.

“The community would have a voice in where they go with it,” Snelling said. ‘‘Solar is a technology that is very manageable for communities.”

Snelling said a project like the one proposed has never been done before and is possible through recent state legislation that allows for group net-metering, allowing anyone in the same utility service area to benefit from a community solar project. The estimated cost of a project is $1,200 per share with 600 shares and a payout of six to eight years.

“You would see the monetary benefit for buying a share in this project,” he said.

Although people at the informational meeting raised several concerns regarding the project, including what the landowner gets from the project, unforeseen costs, and the project’s impact on taxes. One person said the idea of community solar is great, but it also needs to be profitable.

Snelling said the idea of community energy is not new as several European countries have successfully implemented projects, but he said the implementation of a project in Vermont is somewhat new. He said Energize Vermont has also approached other communities in Vermont and a group in the Mad River Valley area are organizing to move forward with a project.

“I am really excited,” he said.

Ina Smith of Poultney said she left the informational meeting excited because the idea of having a grass-roots small-scale power project is the way to go. She believes a project like the one presented by Energize Vermont is possible in a small community like Poultney.

“I am not sure what form it will take, but I hope more people will join the group,” Smith said. “I am excited by the possibility of it.”

The next step for a possible solar project is to create a committee of interested people who would pursue the idea with the help of Energize Vermont. They would need to identify a possible location and the logistics of the project before moving forward, but Snelling said the most important step is getting community support.

“I have been working and being as annoying as possible to get people out of the woodwork,” he said.

For more information on a solar community project and Energize Vermont, visit www.energizevermont.org.