In Warren last week, Department of Public Works Director Barry Simpson told town officials that he had previously discussed alternative energy prospects with members of the Planning Commission at that group's last meeting.
"In general they've become accustomed to the idea that it would be wise for us to come up with ways to generate some of our own power," Simpson said.
Simpson said he has been in communication with Green Mountain Power for a breakdown of the power requirements of the town. He told select board members that the town buildings including the fire station, town hall, post office and Sugarbush fire station combined use about 77,000 kilowatt hours per year and that the Warren School itself uses almost 150,000 kWh per year.
While no corporations have officially approached the town yet, the planning commission and Simpson have discussed potential locations for solar panels throughout the town. One site is the newly cleared area behind the Brooks Field, since the northern half gets a lot of southern exposure.
"There was a mixed review on that. Some thought it would be good to have it next to the schools as an educational adjunct. Others thought that the site had been promised to other purposes; it was at one time, considered for an affordable housing project," Simpson said.
Warren select board chair Andy Cunningham said, "I would say that that was never promised."
Simpson confirmed that there had been substantial opposition to locating an affordable housing project on the site.
Another site discussed was the old town dump, which would have to be cleared, according to Simpson, but does not have the panorama required for solar trackers but would be appropriate for fixed panels.
Also, Simpson discussed the town pit site, particularly to the north where the fire pond is currently located. The drawback, he said, was the lack of power in the location, which is needed to excite the panel's inverters and thusly draw power away from the solar collectors.
"The intent is to eventually get power there, but it's not available until we have a real purpose for doing so," he said.
In addition, Simpson said, "Although there was some reaction to the way the collectors have been placed on Route 100, in general the planning commission is sort of coming to the realization that this would be a good thing to do right now."
Cunningham questioned the limits of the upcoming July 15 deadline. Simpson said he expected that the deadline would be extended.
"I don't think there will be a decision made tonight. I'd rather let the deadline come and go than make a bad decision. Keep gathering the information and if we run out of time, it's not our time," Cunningham added.
Simpson said he was not currently focusing on the hardware, rather to locate solar panels, since it's a major consideration and requires a substantial area with good southern exposure. In addition, Simpson said that PC members had expressed concern about locating panels out of the way given the possibility that they could be vandalized.
Another potential location would be the school's roof, Simpson said; the roof will need to be replaced in the coming years but would be easy to access for maintenance purposes.
"They do require a bit of maintaining," he said.
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