Hartford
In July, the town sent an application to the Vermont Public Service Board for permission to build solar arrays not just at the ice rink, but at a variety of town-owned buildings, including the White River Junction Wastewater Treatment Facility and the buildings that house Hartford’s public works and public safety departments.
The Barwood Arena array would consist of 594 solar panels capable of generating 150 kilowatts of energy, or enough to power roughly 27 homes.
Norwich Technologies, a local solar power company, helped to prepare the application, which was expected to be subject to a lottery for a pool of 7.5 megawatts of solar energy available to Green Mountain Power customers under the Public Service Board’s current regulations on net metering.
However, the total number of applications submitted did not exceed the allowable cap, with the result that all qualifying applications, including the one for the ice arena, were approved.
But there are problems with the idea that have yet to be worked out.
Several years ago, the town and school considered solar panels on the arena, but concluded that the roof, which has had problems with snow loading, was structurally unable to support panels.
There’s more to learn about the site, said Alan Johnson, the Hartford Selectboard’s liaison to the Hartford Energy Commission, of which he previously was chairman.
“It certainly wasn’t a full engineering review,” he said on Wednesday. “There was information from years ago, but the building has been renovated since then,” referring to a bond-funded multimillion-dollar renovation of the arena that took place two years ago.
He said that panels have gotten lighter, and that the roof was likely to be able to support some panels.
“How many is the question,” he said.
He said an engineering study of the building, which was built in the 1970s, could also determine whether it would be cost-effective to add supports to the roof to allow it to bear the weight of a full array.
The town has a significant incentive to pursue the project.
In order to qualify for net metering, at least half of the energy that solar arrays produce must be consumed on-site; the high energy usage rates of the refrigerated ice arena would make it an ideal location to meet that requirement.
The Hartford Energy Commission noted during a July meeting that the electricity produced there could also be used to credit solar energy production requirements associated with another green energy project the town is pursuing: the potential installation of an electric car charger in the parking lot of the former American Legion.
If putting solar panels on the roof isn’t possible, Johnson said the town would like to explore the idea of putting solar panels on the ground, but that possibility has not been embraced by school officials.
During School Board meetings on July 20 and Aug. 10, Hartford School Board Chairwoman Lori Dickerson raised concerns about the project, according to meeting minutes.
“The Selectboard and town do not own the land at (the arena). Putting solar panels on the ground at (the arena) would be an issue as there is not enough space and it would need to be discussed with the School Board,” are sentiments attributed to Dickerson in the minutes of the July 20 meeting.
This week, Dickerson said the district’s objection to the idea remains.
“I have no concerns if they are able to use the (arena) roof for the placement of the panels, as it is their building,” Dickerson said in an email on Wednesday. “I was concerned with the original proposal when they said that it would be the roof or surrounding area. The land surrounding WABA is used as playing and practice fields, and they are owned by the school district. Playing fields are all in demand and the ones closest to the school are always scheduled.”
Johnson said he was undeterred by the school’s reluctance.
“I think it’s worth analyzing what space is available that is, and isn’t, on school property,” he said.
He said he’d like to have an expert opinion of what could be done using post-based tracking solar arrays, which “disturb a relatively small amount of land.”
Since the renovation of the Barwood Arena, the town and school district have worked through other minor disagreements centered around the facility, including how much locker space would be allocated to school teams and who would pay for an access road.
Lori Hirshfield, executive director of the Hartford Planning Department, said on Wednesday that the application was a preliminary step that now allows the town to take a closer look at whether the solar array is practical.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.