Vermont Electric Cooperative is poised to build the state’s first utility-scale solar project.
Vermont Electric is partnering with National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), an organization representing more than 900 electric cooperatives, to create one of 15 large-scale solar research projects.
Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) provides electricity to customer-members in 74 towns in northern Vermont and parts of Chittenden County.
David Hallquist, CEO of VEC, announced the plan to build a 5 megawatt solar installation that would cover about 20 to 30 acres in the western part of its service area in northern Vermont during a news conference Monday at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier. It would be the largest such installation in Vermont.
NRECA is offering a “PV system package,” which includes standardized photovoltaic technical designs and business models for all participating co-ops. The driving force behind this research project is to use economies of scale to bring down the cost of solar energy.
“With next generation solar, we no longer need to choose between lower power costs and increasing renewable energy. We can have both,” Hallquist said.
The project is estimated to cost about $10 million. The Public Service Board has not issued a permit for the project, which VEC hopes to be completed by 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy provided NRECA $3.6 million to kick-start large-scale solar research projects across the county as part of its SunShot Initiative designed to reduce the cost of solar energy. The association matched this grant with another $1.2 million, bringing the total to about $4.8 million.
NRECA will not subsidize Vermont Electric’s prospective project, said Douglas Danley, technical consultant for the NRECA. Instead, all 15 electric cooperatives will receive engineering and design services for their projects. The “package” will encourage local contracting and labor, Danley said.
He said while small-scale solar projects are good, only about 15 percent of homeowners in the country are able to install rooftop and backyard solar projects because some homes are rentals and others have inadequate sunlight.
“Really, the number is fairly small,” he said. “But there needs to be other pathways. And a community solar-type project and a cooperatively-owned solar-type project can be one of those pathways.”
Hallquist said he plans to work with lawmakers this coming biennium to remove the current 500 kW capacity cap on renewable energy installments under the state’s current net metering law.
However, if the law goes unchanged, he said the project will still go forward without any subsidies from the state.
“Even if that were not to happen, we would still continue with this project and just use it as part of our power supply,” Hallquist said.
He said ratepayers will not see a rise in their electricity cost as a result of the project. He said utility-scale solar costs have come down in recent years.
“For our members, there is no real risk in it,” Hallquist said.
Gov. Peter Shumlin said solar in the state has a “bright future,” stating that the project will create jobs, drive the cost of solar energy down and chip away at the state’s goal to produce 90 percent of its energy from renewables by 2050.
“I think [David Hallquist’s] initiative and ability to be innovative and work together to build what will be the biggest utility-owned solar project yet in the state of Vermont, is really – gives me great hope for a job-filled, clean, green future for Vermont,” Shumlin said.
Gabrielle Stebbins is executive director for the trade association Renewable Energy Vermont, which promotes renewable energy use and development in Vermont.
Stebbins said she supports the project because it will reduce the cost of solar energy. However, such utility-scale renewable energy projects must be paired with smaller projects. She said smaller, rooftop solar installments are still needed to keep the distribution costs of energy down.
