Wayland energy panel weighs anchoring community solar to green municipal power

WAYLAND -- December 20, 2023, Wayland Energy and Climate Committee explores anchoring a community solar farm to green municipal power at parity. At the Dec. 20 meeting, Ampion Renewable Energy representative Tara walked members through Massachusetts rules allowing large users to anchor up to half a project's output with no upfront investment and a fixed discount on credit value. Chair Ellen Tohn said buying renewable energy certificates outright would cost about $120,000 more per year and is not viable: "There's just no way that we can pay more." Member Tom Sciacca pushed for environmental siting criteria in any RFP. Sustainability Manager Abigail Shute also reported a $44,000 MAPC climate resiliency grant awarded for a five-town senior heat program, a 12 percent drop in municipal building energy use, and a revised 100-kilowatt rooftop solar array at Loker Elementary expected to cover 25 to 30 percent of the school's load.