Power plan

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Somersworth’s former landfill may soon be home to a solar power project
By Larry Clow

For nearly 50 years, Somersworth’s landfill on Blackwater Road was where the city burned trash and dumped sludge, solvents, dyes, and other chemicals. The site closed in 1981 and environmental cleanup efforts began in the mid-1990s. It’s a financial liability for the city, according director of planning and community development Dave Sharples. The city spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year monitoring and maintaining the site.

But that might soon change. The city is moving forward with plans to convert the 26-acre site into a solar farm. It’s the latest New Hampshire community to look at converting a former landfill into a renewable energy source as a way to generate revenue and save money on energy costs.

On March 2, the city council voted to authorize city manager Bob Belmore to enter into a memorandum of understanding with American Capital Energy (ACE), a Lowell, Mass.-based company that specializes in large solar power projects. The memorandum hasn’t been finalized yet, according to Sharples. Once it is, ACE will begin looking for grant funding and possible tax incentives to make the project “work in the best interest of the city,” Sharples said.

The seeds for the project were planted in 2011, when Sharples participated in a webinar about using landfill sites for renewable energy projects. The city approached the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which conducted a feasibility study in 2013. The city issued a request for proposals in 2014.

The project has the potential to generate up to 3.1 to 4.1 megawatts of electricity, according to the 2013 EPA study. The particulars of the project will be worked out in the memorandum, according to Sharples. The city could lease the landfill site to ACE, or it could enter into a power purchase agreement with the company, in which the city would buy electricity at a lower rate from ACE. A combination of the two agreements is also possible. There are no upfront costs for the city, according to Sharples.

“There are varying ways that could play out, and none of that is decided yet,” he said.

“It’s a place where debris from 40 to 100 years ago have been thrown there and are just sitting there. The only really viable use is for something like this.” — Dave Sharples

Bill Fitzpatrick, a sales manager with ACE, calls the memorandum the “start of our due-diligence process.” The next step is to find investors, as well as grants and tax incentives that will make the project worthwhile, both for ACE and the city. ACE has completed similar projects in Massachusetts, where Fitzpatrick said there are more tax incentives available for renewable energy projects than in New Hampshire.

“New Hampshire is sticking its toe in the water at this time,” Fitzpatrick said. “We try to maximize all the benefits we can get … and pass them on to the city.”

It’s possible work on the site could begin in 2016, but Sharples said there are many steps to complete, such as a review by EverSource Energy (formerly PSNH) to determine how to connect the project to the power grid.

The project has a number of benefits for the city, Sharples said. “We see it as a renewable energy source that augments our energy production. The city master plan and the council want to see a more sustainable future, and energy is a big part of that,” he said.

Perhaps most importantly, the project is a way to utilize a landfill site that’s otherwise unusable. Though the money generated from the solar project won’t eliminate the cost of maintaining the site entirely, Sharples said it will “lessen the blow.”

“It’s a place where debris from 40 to 100 years ago have been thrown there and are just sitting there,” he said. “The only really viable use is for something like this.”

Other New Hampshire communities are considering reusing former landfill sites for solar power projects. According to a March 5 article in the Keene Sentinel, both Jaffrey and Peterborough have solar power projects in various stages of development. Construction began on a 2.7-acre solar array in Peterborough in November 2014. In Jaffrey, town officials are pursuing a grant for a solar project with Borrego Solar Inc. of Massachusetts.

“I think a lot of people are thinking about it in New Hampshire,” Sharples said.