The Town of Weathersfield has welcomed solar electric generation once again by hosting a 500 kW AC solar array at the Town Garage, offsetting nearly 750 tons of CO2 emissions annually, and saving the Town more than $100,000 off its electric bills over the life of the project. The solar project was permitted, financed, engineered, and installed by Norwich Solar of White River Junction.
This public/private collaborative effort results in Weathersfield securing several local economic benefits including increased tax revenue with minimal demand on public services and savings on the Town’s electric bills, while also contributing to a more resilient local electric grid with in-town distributed generation. The solar panels will produce nearly 1,000,000 kWh of renewable energy each year, enough to support the average annual energy use of approximately 85 households.
In addition to the Town of Weathersfield receiving net metering credits, so will the Town of Woodstock, as well as three members of Norwich Solar’s Small Business Community Solar Alliance (SBCSA). The Wayside Restaurant, Jake’s Market & Deli, and Stewart Maple are all now virtual net metering. These SBCSA member businesses all save money on their electric bills even though they were not able to host their own solar for either space or structural reasons. These local businesses keep their energy dollars circulating here in Vermont, strengthening our clean energy economy. SBCSA Membership is open to all Vermont businesses with annual GMP bills of $10,000 or more.
When asked about their participation in the project, Bruce Bergeron of Jake’s Markets said, “Jake’s Market & Deli and Mike’s Store & Deli are excited to be a part of the Upper Valley community, and being part of local renewable energy projects in the neighborhoods we live and work checks off all the right boxes.” And according to Alyssa Stewart of Stewart Maple, “Stewart Maple has always prioritized embracing technologies to provide a sustainable, innovative, and efficient path towards our business’s growth. We believe that partnering with Norwich Solar on this project continues to support our mission to be good stewards of our Vermont forest land as well as fostering innovative technologies towards renewable energy independence for our community.”
