The Tolland Town Council on a unanimous vote approved a 20-year bill-credit solar agreement between the town, the Tolland Board of Education and developer GreenSky that will place solar arrays on three school roofs and a canopy system over the high school parking lot.

The contract, which town staff and school officials said requires no capital outlay from the town or the school district, will deliver utility bill credits under Connecticut’s Non‑Residential Renewable Energy Solutions (NRES) program. "The systems that would be installed will actually send the power back to the street," Adam Sapp, general manager of TitanGen, told the council. TitanGen is the energy manager assisting the district. Sapp and GreenSky representatives projected roughly $100,000 in electricity bill savings in the first year across the four sites and said the credits are fixed for the contract’s 20‑year term.

"We have been working on solar projects since about 2022," Superintendent Dr. Willets told the council, describing the district’s multi‑year effort to find a structure that cuts energy costs without upfront capital for the schools.

Councilors and the school’s facilities and legal staff pressed developers and counsel on issues they said must be resolved before construction: roof warranties and the process for removing and reinstalling panels if roofing work is required, liability and insurance, how maintenance downtime will be handled and who pays if production shortfalls occur. Matt Rinelli, counsel for the district, said standard contract clauses addressing maintenance days, decommissioning and insurance are being negotiated and that those topics will be spelled out in the final agreement. "Every topic that — first of all, they've been very good — typical questions or topics. So we've talked about maintenance. We've talked about decommissioning," Rinelli told the council.

Developers said they will use existing roof warranty processes and third‑party structural reviews to avoid voiding manufacturer warranties. GreenSky representatives said they will remove and reinstall arrays for covered roof work and will seek compensation for lost revenue during those periods from their lenders as part of the project’s financing. Councilors asked for evidence that similar municipal projects have not produced ongoing cost surprises.

At the meeting, Councilors approved the resolution, and the council’s motion included a condition asking the Board of Education and GreenSky to provide (1) a written risk register outlining potential cost and operational risks and mitigations and (2) references from districts, municipalities or commercial sites with at least 10–15 years of operating experience to illustrate long‑term outcomes. The council also asked that final contract language addressing roof warranties, decommissioning and maintenance downtime be returned for review before construction begins.

Project particulars provided in the presentation: GreenSky will build, own, operate and maintain the arrays; Eversource will receive and credit meter accounts under the NRES structure; the school district will receive fixed‑value bill credits allocated to its accounts. TitanGen and GreenSky project about $100,000 in annual savings from the four installations combined and about $2 million in gross credit value over 20 years, subject to production and program rules.

Next steps: developers and the district will continue contract negotiations, provide the requested risk register and references to the council, and return with final agreements and stamped structural plans. A start date for construction was not set; developers said they prefer to schedule major construction during summer months to limit impact on school operations.

Why it matters: The arrangement is structured to reduce the district’s operating electric costs without town capital spending, but it transfers long‑term asset, warranty and operational questions to private ownership and contractual protections. The council’s requested risk documentation is intended to ensure the town and school district do not assume unexpected long‑term costs from roofing work, removal and reinstallation or other contingencies.