Town manager David Ames said that the town and Smart Energy Capital, a solar development and finance company, have executed a solar power purchase agreement for the delivery of solar services to the town. This agreement includes the installation of a solar photovoltaic power project at a town owned site off Pleasant St. that will have generation capacity of approximately 3MW, with the town purchasing the electricity as it is produced. The electrical generation system will meet approximately 90% of the town's electrical needs, including town owned buildings and the Athol Royalston Regional School District buildings. Smart Energy Capital is developing the project, together with BlueWave Capital, a project developer. Smart Energy Capital and its investors will finance, own, operate and maintain the solar system. Waterline Corp. Industries will conduct the engineering, procurement and construction of the project.
"We are very excited to partner with the town of Athol to enable them to achieve their sustainability objectives without a capital investment and on optimal economic terms. We commend the town for its forward-thinking approach to reducing its carbon footprint while driving economic savings. It has been a pleasure to work with the town and BlueWave Capital and we look forward to continuing our collaboration in order to complete the project," said Rob Krugel, managing partner of Smart Energy Capital. "This has been a team effort from day one and it will continue to be a team effort. BlueWave Capital and Smart Energy Capital could not have a better teammate than the town of Athol. By working together we will achieve significant reductions in the town's electric costs and meaningful reductions in the town's carbon footprint. We are proud to be part of the effort," said John DeVillars, managing partner of BlueWave Capital. Ames echoed Krugel's and DeVillars' comments. "It has been great working with them. When we first started looking into this we had an idea of what we wanted but lacked the knowledge needed to make it happen. They worked very closely with us and answered all of our questions." Ames also thanked the Athol Energy Committee, director of planning & development Phil Delorey and town counsel Mark Goldstein, all of who played important roles in getting to this point. "Athol is a certified green community. We take that designation seriously and this is a good move in the right direction" Ames said. The town put out requests for proposals with the assistance of the Mass. Department of Energy Resources in August of 2010, marking the beginning of a 10 month process that will enable the project to get underway. "This project is a great opportunity for the town to see real reductions in energy costs without having the expenses of building the system," said Phil Delorey, director of Planning & Development for the town. "It has included a huge learning curve for the town and each of the firms involved. We've been fortunate to have the DOER available for guidance, and fortunate that the developers have the resources to put this deal together for the town."
Athol is looking forward to installation of the system during the fall and winter of 2011 and plans that electrical generation will begin in early winter.