The White Plains Common Council last night approved moving ahead with a plan for the installation of solar generating facilities at eight city properties, which could create up to six megawatts of power each year along with an estimated $960,000 in cash for the city.
Mayor Tom Roach had introduced the plan during a Jan. 27 special meeting of the council not only as a benefit to the community and its taxpayers but as a step to help combat global climate change.
It”™s estimated that the electricity to be generated would be enough to power 4,800 homes per year. The city equates the environmental benefits of the solar installation with removing 46,400 tons of carbon dioxide from the air or taking 8,900 passenger cars off the road.
After sending out a request for proposals to more than 100 qualified solar site developers, the city selected Distributed Solar Projects LLC to establish the solar program in conjunction with Con Edison. The city also had been working with the New York Power Authority on the plan.
“I am pleased to see this solar program move forward,” Roach said. “It is the culmination of hard work on the part of our staff and a commitment on the part of our administration to institute a program that is not only environmentally beneficial, but provides a community benefit and a benefit to the taxpayers as well.”
The city plans a 25-year agreement with Distributed Solar Projects, which will install the solar systems. The developer owns and maintains the systems and shares with the city the revenue from selling electricity to the grid. The revenue to be generated over the lifetime of the agreement for the city is estimated at $25 million.
The city”™s Commissioner of Public Works, Rick Hope, told the council that when the system is fully operational residents who sign up could see a reduction of 10% in the bills for the electricity they use. Hope described Distributed Solar Projects as being a “spin-off” of GE Solar.
Solar panels are to be installed at the city”™s Longview, Lyon Place, Chester-Maple and Shapham Place garages. In addition, they would be put on the roof of the Ebersole Ice Rink, the city”™s sanitation building and a rooftop canopy at the Gillie Park lot. A ground array would be set up at the Gedney Way Recycling Center. It”™s estimated that all systems would be installed and operational by March 2021.
“We believe we have created a model that can be replicated and we would be happy to work with municipalities and other entities large and small who also wish to pursue a solar energy program,” Roach said.
If Distributed Solar Projects is able to pay White Plains $1M per year, how much is White Plains leaving on the table by letting them build and own it all?