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Town manager raises solar‑auction offer: $450,000 for 20‑year kilowatt pledge, board seeks more detail
Summary
Town Manager Paul Marino presented a proposal to let a developer use Winchester’s annual kilowatt consumption as leverage for a large solar project in exchange for $450,000 (one‑time or spread). Selectmen asked for more detail about legal, fiscal and operational implications and directed Marino and Selectman Pozzo to meet the vendor.
WINCHESTER, Conn. — Town Manager Paul Marino outlined a renewable‑auction proposal on Jan. 21 under which a developer would use the town’s annual electricity consumption figures as part of the underwriting for a large solar farm elsewhere. In exchange, Marino said, the town could receive $450,000 — either as a lump sum or spread over multiple years — in return for permitting the developer to include Winchester’s kilowatt usage in its project justification for tax and incentive purposes.
Marino emphasized that the proposal would not require Winchester to purchase power from the developer or to host the solar farm locally. "This program does not bind us into buying our power… It has nothing to do with building the farm here," Marino said. He said other Connecticut municipalities have entered similar agreements and that the vendor expects to return details about payment timing; Marino said he had asked for a lump‑sum payment in the next fiscal year because of near‑term capital needs.
Board members raised multiple questions about municipal implications: whether selling kilowatt usage would affect local solar credits or future roof‑mounted projects, how federal and state incentives and tax credits interact with such an agreement, and whether the $450,000 offer represented fair market value. Several selectmen expressed concern about environmental impacts from very large off‑site solar farms and asked for legal and fiscal review.
The board did not take a vote. Marino said he would arrange a meeting between vendor representatives and Selectman William Pozzo to get contract details and legal counsel input before bringing a recommendation back to the board.
Ending: The town manager will schedule a vendor briefing and obtain legal and financial analysis of the proposal so the board can evaluate potential benefits and risks before any commitment.
