In their meeting held on June 8, the Marion Energy Management Committee met over the Zoom platform to provide updates to Marion’s future energy endeavors.
Town Planner Gil Hilario provided the committee with an update to the Benson Brook Solar Array Project. Drone surveys will be conducted to provide aerial imaging of the site. Hilario noted that the amount of power that can be provided by the site may exceed the amount that was initially proposed.
Committee Member Bill Saltonstall explained that further increases in potential power could come with the addition of solar panels to the slopes of the landfill. The sloping panels would come as added support to the panels placed on top of the capped landfill.
“It seems like their setting just used the top portion only, but I am trying to get the slopes used as much as possible,” said Hilario. In a Board of Selectmen meeting, Hilario advocated for the use of panels on the slopes of the landfill to increase output. “If they use the slope, it’s possible they could revise the financial statements,” Hilario added.
“The Board of Selectmen may be using outdated information,” said committee member Jennifer Francis. “Many capped landfills use solar panels on their slopes.”
Francis advised the committee to provide examples of other towns that have successfully used solar panels on the slopes of their landfills. “It would be a win-win situation for the contractors and the town,” she said. “They will have more panels, and we will have more renewable energy.”
Hilario provided the committee with an update on the Green Communities Planning Project that would see the current Marion Community Center heating system replaced with electric heat pumps. The heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer.
“We thought about the pros and cons, and we felt it was only a small price difference,” Hilario explained. The heat pumps will be used the majority of the time heating the building in external temperatures from 30 degrees and up. When it gets below 30 degrees, the furnace will kick in to support the electric system.”
Hilario explained that heat pumps are an innovative change that will support a reduction in the town’s consumption of fossil fuels. As the heat pumps rely only on electric power, they can be supported by power generated by solar and wind farms. Amid concerns about having two different units requiring maintenance in the same building, Hilario explained that the heat pumps would use exiting ductwork inside the community center and therefore require little attention.
Saltonstall spoke before the committee to address broad issues related to the town’s general energy consumption. According to Saltonstall, the average of the town’s electrical cost for Fiscal Year 2018 was $2,500,000. Currently, Marion has accrued $2,100,000 in electrical costs and is trending in the right direction for significant savings. Though the savings are substantial, Saltonstall admitted that the decrease in costs was nowhere near the 20 percent decrease the town had hoped for over the course of a five-year period.
Saltonstall attributed much of the savings to work being done with Future Generation Wind. The wind farm has paid the town roughly $90,000 per year and $342,000 to the town in energy savings over four years. In addition to the savings, Saltonstall added that Future Generation Wind could assist the town with further energy projects. “As we think of work happening this coming year, we should remember that we can get help if we apply for it,” Saltonstall told the committee.
In the conclusion of his reports, Saltonstall explained that the majority of the streetlights in Marion had had their existing lightbulbs replaced with more efficient LED bulbs. The more efficient lighting is another step the committee has taken to transition Marion into a greener community. The only streetlights that still need to be converted are located on Front Street. Saltonstall estimated that this left roughly 15 lights in the town that could be updated.
The committee’s final business addressed the retirement of Chairman David Pierce from the Energy Management Committee. The committee unanimously thanked Pierce for his dedication to the committee and for the work he has accomplished.
Pierce’s final act on the committee was to determine who would replace him in the role of chairman. The committee nominated and unanimously carried a motion for member Christian Ingerslev to take on the role of chairman.
“This has been a committee I have enjoyed working with over the years,” Pierce said in his closing remarks. “The movement forward we have made has been so impressive. It has been an honor to serve with you, and I have every reason to believe our work will continue forward. I wish you all the very best.”
The next Marion Energy Management Committee meeting was not yet scheduled at press time.
Marion Energy Management Committee
By Matthew Donato