Renewable Energy Working Group Meeting Minutes 3/21/22
Minutes, MREWG meeting 3/21/2022
Attending:
Peter Murkett, Peter Grealish, Chris Erickson, John Prusinski, Rob Hoogs, Shawn Tryon, Justin Makuc
Agenda:
Valley Solar, rooftop solar for town buildings
Beacon Integrated Solutions update
Membership, duties
Green Community application
Funding by grant
Innovative PV technology
Approval of minutes
Meeting called to order at 5:30.
Peter M spoke with Chris at Valley Solar, which is prepared to look at town buildings and draw up a proposal for rooftop solar. They are currently in the process of executing a municipal installation for the town of Hadley. Third party energy owners and sellers, typical for municipalities, is not an obstacle. Valley Solar commonly provides battery-supported PV installations.
Peter M also spoke with Beth Greenblatt of Beacon Integrated Solutions, who indicated that, for $15K, she could provide a complete, step-by-step plan for town PV installation. Such a consultant fee had been discussed in the Group, but it is now too late in the town budget process to act before town meeting in May. Ms. Greenblatt also suggested that we talk to town counsel about leasing private land for large scale solar.
A motion to seek the Select Board’s consent to consult with Town Counsel on this and related matters was approved.
The Group currently has five official members, all but one have now been sworn in. Any increase will have to add at least two members.
Peter M spoke with Emily Lange, of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. She is preparing a Green Community application for the town of Monterey, to be submitted to the Massachusetts Dept. of Energy Resources. Her work on the application is dependent on funding cycles, and date of completion is uncertain. Once submitted, designation is likely to follow in a month or more, and will provide access to funds of $100K or more, to be used primarily for energy conservation. Monterey has adopted the stretch code, and approved a plot of town land zoned for large scale solar by right. These are two criteria for Green Community designation.
Shawn’s experience as Director of Operations indicates that the Green Community energy conservation goal, a 20% reduction over 5 years, is elusive because the town has already adopted efficient practices and improvements. Large municipalities can save significant energy through conservation, but small towns are better positioned to reduce carbon emissions by installing solar panels, as noted in a 2014 BRPC policy document. Funding to date does not always support this understanding of the difference between small town and large municipalities.
We discussed promoting solar installations by homeowners through, say, a solar community supper at which residents who have panels can speak of their experiences. A monthly article updating readers of the Monterey News on our activities, and a possible “solar fair” were also proposed.
We discussed solar panels on buildings owned by the Monterey Fire Company, as distinct from town-owned buildings. A motion to ask the Fire Company for approval for the Group to solicit bids for solar on the firehouse and pavilion, sized appropriately for baseload average use was approved. Shawn suggested writing a letter to give Fire Co. members time to consider the proposal before their April meeting, and also emphasized that members have essentially no time beyond their basic duties to help with any solar panel effort.
Meeting adjourned at 8 pm.
Respectfully Submitted
Peter Murkett, Chair
Monterey Renewable Energy Working Group