CLAREMONT — The proposed 10 megawatt solar farm on vacant industrial property near the railroad tracks off Grissom Lane will not happen.
The option and lease agreement signed between the city and North Light Solar of Maine will expire at the end of the month and the company will not renew it, Claremont’s Planning and Development Director Nancy Merrill told the city council last week.
Merrill said North Light told her the “interconnection” between the solar array and the existing transmission grid was too costly for the project to work financially for that amount of power. But it also said a 5MW array with the city as the power customer would be possible.
The council did not make any decision but did ask for more information on power purchase agreements and the pros and cons of any arrangement between North Light and the city and potential costs to the city. Merrill expects to present to the council at its second meeting in April
When North Light proposed its solar farm back in 2019, it was eyeing about 200 acres spread over four parcels, two of which were city owned. The third is owned by the Claremont Development Authority and the fourth is privately-owned. North Light had proposed selling three to four megawatts of power on the 10 MW plan to the city. Under the lease agreement, North Light would have leased the land from the city in addition to a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement.
The council also tabled a motion by councilor Jonathan Stone to demolish what is referred to as the “Sullivan stack,” along the Sugar River not far from the Visitor’s Center on North Street. The old smokestack, once used a part of a power plant when Sullivan Machine buildings lined both sides of the river, is in deteriorating condition and some worry presents a safety hazard. The cost of demolition was estimated between $140,000 and $170,000, according to Merrill.
A few residents told the council it should consider looking at grants and other funding resources to possibly preserve the structures instead of hastily tearing them down.
“To tear down something unlike anything built today I think is a mistake,” said resident Jeff Barrette, a local business owner who redeveloped a 19th century building on Water Street for his business. “That tower and pump house are assets to the city.”
Sullivan County Manager Derek Ferland, who was speaking as a private citizen, said it is worth investigating whether it makes more economic sense to redevelop the site as there could be private investment interests and that could be a “springboard” for more development along that stretch of the Sugar River.
Structural LLC, a Cheshire, Conn., firm, conducted an in-depth analysis of the property and submitted a report, which can be viewed on the city’s website under city council. According to the report, the chimney was built around 1918 and taken out of service in 1978.
In its conclusions, Structural said the condition of the chimney ranges from good, 50 feet down to five feet; fair, 130 feet to 50 feet; poor, below five feet; and unsound, the upper 16 feet, which the report said should be demolished.
Recommendations in the report to save the chimney include installing a new five inch reinforced concrete cap and roof, repairing and replacing bricks on the lower west and northwest sides, repointing all exterior mortar joints, installing a new lighting protection system and installing waterproofing coating on the exterior.
Structural said the condition of the powerhouse ranged from “fair to good.” However it was noted that interior access to assess the condition of the walls, windows, roof and concrete foundation was not possible because access to the inside was blocked.
“Based on the March 2022 visual inspection, no significant structural concerns were noted throughout the interior or exterior surfaces of the powerhouse,” the report said.
Recommended actions for the powerhouse include repointing interior and exterior brick, some brick replacement and the rebuilding of a section, which is missing, below one of the windows. Additionally, complete window replacement, removal of all graffiti, a new roof and likely replacement of all electrical and mechanical systems will be needed.
At the end of the report, Structural provided an itemized list titled “rough budget for repairs” for its recommended actions with a price tag of $272,000.
Merrill said her department will undertake an effort to see what grant money could be available for the work.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
