KENT, Conn.—The Sewer Commission reacted with enthusiasm to a proposal by Connecticut Green Bank this week to participate in the Solar Marketplace Assistance Program (Solar MAP), which would install solar panels at the town’s sewer plant at no expense to the town.
Installation of the solar system promises to reduce high electricity bills at the plant by up to 85 percent.
In 2024, Connecticut Green Bank more than doubled its allocation of funding to support solar photovoltaic (PV) projects for businesses, towns, schools, non-profits and state agencies. Originally approved in 2020 at $49.5 million, the allocation was increased to $110 million due to what Green Bank described as an “ongoing, demonstrated need” for flexible capital for customers seeking to use solar energy and take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).”
With this increase, $50 million was dedicated to solar at businesses, towns, and schools. Connecticut Green Bank reports that it has dedicated more than $30 million in capital to more than 100 solar projects.
Katie Shelton, who works with Green Bank, described the process to commission members. She said Green Bank Solar MAP assists municipalities, state projects and now affordable housing in solar projects.
“We start with a desktop review of your situation to determine the system size and general layout,” she said. “Then we do an onsite visit to verify conditions.”
The information is pooled with like projects and put out for competitive bid. “We develop in rounds,” she said, “so we get like projects together for contractors’ selections. That way, it is not a huge administrative process on your end, and we have economies of scale.”
When the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are returned, contractors are selected and Green Bank comes back to its clients with specifics. She said there is some urgency for Kent to engage in the process because under the Trump administration there is an “accelerated phase-out of the investment tax credit.”
“Timing is important,” she said. “We need to release the RFP, select the contractor and safe harbor (procure the materials) to lock in the economics of the project.” This all must be completed by July 1.
Green Bank would oversee the project from inception to completion at no cost to the Sewer Commission. The Sewer Commission could receive monetary credits on its utility bill or purchase power at a reduced rate for 20 years.
“We would run models both ways to determine which would give the maximum benefit,” Shelton said. “There would be no-out-of-pocket expense on your end.”
She said Green Bank has worked with about 60 municipalities.
Two assessments were done for systems in Kent. The first, a 81.6 kW system, was proposed several years ago and would be positioned closer to the sewer plant. It would produce about 106 kW hours of power each year. A second, oversized, 260 kW system, would produce about 300 kW in a year.
“The plan currently is for the oversized system,” said Shelton. “We have the owner of the property as the Town of Kent, so you fall into the State, Agriculture or Municipal (SAM) category, and would have to have additional accounts, such as the Town Hall or the fire department, on the system to justify the size. You would have to have a conversation on your end to decide if you (the Sewer Commission) would get 100 percent of the benefits or would share them with the other accounts.”
If other town accounts were to be included, those facilities might be affected if they later wanted to do their own projects.
It was pointed out that the town leases the land from Kent School and that the school would have to agree to the system’s development. The larger system would also depend on the amount of power that could be fed into the existing grid. “We won’t know that figure until we get into development,” said Shelton.
“Timing is of the essence for development,” she stressed. “We want to include it in the upcoming RFP. A lot is up in air about the availability of materials and the contractors are very busy working within the time frame as result of the One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Proceeding through the early phases of development would not commit the town to having the system constructed. “We’re looking for confirmation of interest,” said Shelton. “We can scope this out for you, but we can’t show you numbers now, so we can’t ask for a commitment. If the numbers don’t work, it’s no harm, no foul.”
Town Administrative Assistant Joyce Kearns cautioned that the commission should discuss the proposal further and bring town officials into the deliberations.
“If everything clicks off and goes as it should, it’s an absolute win-win,” said Sewer Commission Chairman Elissa Potts. “The electrical bills down there are crazy.”
