At the April 29 annual town meeting, Woolwich voters will consider a proposal for constructing a solar array at the former landfill. Selectmen voted unanimously March 13 to include an article to enter into an agreement with ReVision Energy, LLC of Portland and Liberty.

Nick Sampson of ReVision was on hand to explain the financing and benefits of the town entering into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). ReVision proposes providing the town with 24-kilowatt grid-tied solar array generating 29,656 kilowatt hours of electricity. There’d  be no upfront costs to the town. ReVision would lease the site for $1 per year, agreeing to purchase all power generated from it. ReVision would maintain and insure the system for as long as it owns it. The town could eventually buy the system.

Chairman David King Sr. referred to the proposal as a “win-win all the way around.” King told the Wiscasset Newspaper on March 14, the proposed solar array is bigger than the one initially proposed for the roof of the Nequasset Meeting House.

“They estimate it will produce roughly 97 percent of the town’s electrical needs,” King said adding, selectmen budgeted $10,500 last year for electricity for the town office and fire station.

Under the PPA, the town will purchase electricity generated from the panels for six years for about the same cost as what it’s now paying for electricity. King said in year seven the town has the option to buy the array, earning credit for all the power it produces. The system has a life expectancy of 30 to 40 years.

“If we do a year seven buyout we'd have the system paid off in year 15,” Selectman Allison Hepler told the Wiscasset Newspaper. “What I like about it is that, even though our electricity isn't ‘free’ from year one we’ll be generating nearly 30,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy each year.” According to ReVision’s calculations, this translates to over 30,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year. “To be honest, I hadn't thought of it in those terms that we're reducing our carbon footprint immediately,” Hepler said. It was also making good use of the landfill that can’t be used for anything else, she added.

Selectmen aren’t planning to ask for any funds for the project in the 2017-18 budget. If the article passes, the board will start putting aside funding for it the following year.

“If the townspeople decide to approve this, the ones who will be the beneficiaries will be the next generation of Woolwich residents,” added King.

An informational meeting is tentatively set for Thursday, April 13. A ReVision representative has been invited. Hepler plans to put information in the town office’s upcoming newsletter. “We want as many residents to know about this as possible.”