E.S. Boulos Company (ESB) has completed electrical installations at the Western Massachusetts Electric Company's 2.3MW ground-mount Indian Orchard solar facility. Encompassing 12 acres and comprised of 8,200 solar panels, the Indian Orchard project is one of the largest solar generating facilities in New England and one of the largest in the northeast.
ESB project manager Clint Chicoine and site supervisor Alan Squilanti supervised a field crew of 48 IBEW electricians at peak construction. Electricity generated at the site is expected to power up to 500 homes. Construction began July 2011 and ESB met a 4-month project schedule, as the installations were completed on November 28. The NECA Maine Division contractor teamed with the project's general contractor and electrical engineering firm American Capital Energy.
The revitalized site, owned by Springfield Redevelopment Authority, was formerly the site of a metal foundry. "Revitalizing brownfield sites is a major aspect of our administration's continued economic development efforts, especially in our Gateway Communities," said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. Springfield mayor Domenic Sarno said the renewable site will be "a major transformation of a brownfield into a clean renewable energy resource that will be an asset to the city and the neighborhood of Indian Orchard." Electricity generated at the site is expected to power up to 500 homes.
The Indian Orchard project marks the second large-scale solar generating facility that E.S. Boulos has provided for WMECo. In 2010, ESB completed installation of the 1.8MW WMECo Silver Lake solar facility in Pittsfield, Mass.