The Marshfield Energy Conservation and Climate Change Committee is proposed that the Town of Marshfield invest in a solar array to generate approximately two-thirds of the electricity used at the OSC.The Town applied for and was awarded a grant of up to $36,450 to be used for this project. The project was completed in January, 2013. The project was approved at a special meeting on October 23, 2012. 

The three-tracker system and appurtenances costs approximately $97,000, but was eligible for approximately $34,000 in state incentives, so the net cost to the town sas approximately $63,000. Additionally, Green Mountain power will pay us an extra 6 cents for each kilowatt hour produced because solar energy comes at just the right time to offset their most expensive power purchases.

The voters approved financing the $63,000 net cost by “borrowing” from our own dedicated town funds that are earning just 0.5% or less interest in the bank. Alternatively a loan could have been taken at 2.5% from the bank. During the first 4-5 years, the total cost of the project will increase taxes (relative to the 2012 tax rate) as set forth below.

Year	Increase in the Property Tax Rate	Increase in the Taxes on a $100,000 Property
2013	$0.00699	$6.99
2014	$0.00679	$6.79
2015	$0.00659	$6.59
2016	$0.00638	$6.38
2017	$0.00618	$6.18

After this point, our electric bill will be less than it would otherwise be, paying for the full cost of the system and saving the town an additional $10,000 to $20,000 in the next 15 years. This savings is expected to reduce taxes as follows, assuming a bank loan at 2.5%. (Again, these tax rates are relative to 2012 taxes, not the higher rates mentioned above.)

Year	Decrease in the Property Tax Rate	Decrease in the Taxes on a $100,000 Property
2018	$0.00303	$3.03
2019	$0.00301	$3.01
2020	$0.00298	$2.98
2021	$0.00296	$2.96
2022	$0.00294	$2.94
2023	$0.00291	$2.91
2024	$0.00289	$2.89
2025	$0.00287	$2.87
2026	$0.00285	$2.85
2027	$0.00283	$2.83
2028	$0.00280	$2.80
2029	$0.00278	$2.78
2030	$0.00276	$2.76
2031	$0.00274	$2.74
2032	$0.00272	$2.72

The three collectors are located on the hillside between the basketball court, the baseball field and the road to the wastewater treatment plant. We have mocked up three images that approximate how the solar array will look from three different points along School St. The image at the beginning of this article shows approximately how the system will look from the base of Upper Depot Rd. This next image shows approximately what the system will look like from the east.

This final image shows approximately how the system will look from the northeast, almost at the OSC driveway.

The Selectboard and the Energy Committee wholeheartedly endorsed this proposal, and we thank you for approving it.