More Solar Panels

A good idea that hasn’t lost any shine

It’s 2023. Well into a technological revolution that has allowed us to adapt to new energy sources that are not only good for the environment but good for your wallet as well. Manchester is just the latest municipality to install solar panels on town buildings, and it’s likely that they won’t be the last.

Announced late last year, Manchester has put up solar panels on seven town buildings, mostly schools as well as the Water & Sewer Department. Schools are a common denominator in these projects because they usually do take up a lot of space with convenient flat roofs.

In their release on the project, they noted that the town expects to save over $100,000 in electricity every year. Over the 20-year lease period for the equipment, the savings will equate to millions of dollars, and could be more depending on how the markets respond. Most people saw a rising cost in their utilities this year.

This partnership is with the Green Bank through its Solar Municipal Assistance Program.

“The Solar Marketplace Assistance Program (Solar MAP) is the perfect program for towns or cities that don’t have the tools, resources or experience to pursue energy saving options with solar on their own.”

The program takes municipalities through the entire process in four easy steps: Engage, Design, Review, and Execute.

Broadly, they meet with the municipality and design a system based on your needs. Then after that is approved, the Green Bank solicits proposals and leads the project through completion.

The Green Bank pays for all the upfront costs, as they had done in Manchester, but they also own the solar array during the twenty year agreement. At the end of the lease, the town has the right to purchase the solar panels outright or enter into a new agreement with the Green Bank.

Solar Panels have an expected life over 20 years, with a common refrain of 25 to 30 years of usefulness. Every year the technology gets better, that lifespan can increase, so in a few years it might be that newer panels installed now can last beyond the advertised lifespan. This project is important for a multitude of reasons. One is that the barrier for entry is getting lower and lower each year. Right now through the Green Bank, you can save millions of dollars over the life of an agreement at no upfront cost.

Manchester itself understands this by partnering with the Green Bank Solar Municipal Assistance Program, but these are just retrofits. It bears saying that when they recently built a new school, it had factored green energy into the design. This won’t be the last project in CT where a town installs solar panels on a municipally-owned building.