The Vermont Public Service Board approved a 500 kilowatt solar project in Montpelier last week.
The proposed solar net-metered project will allow National Life Group to generate its own electricity and receive a credit from its electricity provider, Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility.
The company said it will decide within the next few weeks whether to go forward with the proposed project.
More than 2,000 solar panels would be located on 4.5 acres of a 250-acre parcel owned by the company. National Life has agreed to plant 20 hemlock trees around the southeastern boundary of the project, adjacent to Route 12, to reduce the aesthetic impact on surrounding properties.
The board found the project did not raise any significant issues. Some residents said the project would impact the public’s use of the company’s recreational fields, according to the board’s order.
The project would provide more than 700,000 kilowatt hours of power, which is about 15 percent of the company’s annual electricity consumption, a company spokesman said. In 2008, the company installed a 70-kilowatt solar array on its roof, the company said in a statement.
In a July letter to the board, Montpelier Mayor John Hollar supported the project.
