New rooftop solar project coming to Middleton business

By Anonymous -

  • If there is a Special Fall Town Meeting in Middleton, a new solar energy project will be on the warrant. Last month Todd Fryatt , founder and president of the ECA Solar Corporation of Boston, made a presentation before a joint meeting of the Middleton Board of Selectmen and the Board of Assessors outlining a plan to place solar arrays on multiple commercial/industrial buildings located at 3 Ajootian Way and 30 Log Bridge Road.
    The buildings are privately owned by Ralph DiGiorgio and Rick Nekoroski.
    A Payment in Lieu of Taxes [PILOT] Agreement with ECA Solar was approved jointly by the Selectmen and Board of Assessors at the meeting, but still needs voter approval at a Town Meeting.
    “We have to do this because Massachusetts law requires approval of PILOT agreements at Town Meeting,” explained Assistant Town Administrator Ryan Ferrara.
    To come in under the current State incentive program, this project has to be mechanically complete, but not operational, by January 8.
    “If we do not have a Fall Town Meeting, they now have enough of an agreement in hand to start construction and it can then come before the voters in the Spring,” said Town Administrator Andy Sheehan. “ECA Solar needed the document in hand to move forward with financing and what they have so far is sufficient to get started.”
    The plan
    ECA Solar is projecting electricity generation of 835 kw and 1,161 kw at the respective Ajootian Way and Log Bridge Road sites generating 1.996 MW of DC electricity. The electricity produced from this project will be sold to the Middleton Electric Light Department (MELD). ECA Solar and MELD are working cooperatively on his project that will significantly enhance MELD's renewable electricity portfolio.
    It is expected that the 2 million watts of electricity produced annually by the solar project would be enough to power 200 average local homes. MELD would purchase 100 per cent of the energy generated.
    In a lighter moment, Selectmen Brian Cresta drew a laugh from the audience when he interjected, “My kids can’t shut a light off, so I guarantee we are more than that (average).”
    The 25-year PLIOT program would have ECA making an annual payment to Middleton that at full build out would be $19,404.09. According Town Administrator Andy Sheehan, this figure is calculated by averaging the total projected combined annual tax of 25 years by the 25-year useful life of the equipment. ECA Solar is also responsible for paying all permit fees associated with the construction of this project.
    In addition, ECA Solar is responsible for all maintenance, carries sufficient insurance and would be responsible for the removal of the panels at the end of the agreement.
    “Since the Natsue Way solar proposal failed, MELD has been looking at other options to add more solar energy to their portfolio. This plan is a good option because the panels will be on the roof in the business parks and barely, if at all visible to the public,” said Ferrara.
    From Boxford

  •  Trenton H. Cotney
    Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer
    Trent Cotney, P.A. 
    407 N. Howard Avenue
    Suite 100
    Tampa, FL 33606

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