Tolland Board Hears Solar Proposal for Four School Sites; Vendor Would Cover Costs

The Tolland Board of Education on Tuesday discussed a multi‑site solar proposal presented by Adam Teff of Titan Gen, a Connecticut Conference of Municipalities partner, that would place rooftop arrays at Birchgrove, the intermediate school and the middle school and a parking‑canopy array at the high school.

The pitch centers on a 20‑year power‑purchase agreement in which a developer would own, operate and maintain the panels and the district would buy the solar power at a fixed per‑kilowatt‑hour rate or receive a fixed annual payment for a front‑of‑meter carport. Teff told the board that changes in the state’s Non‑Residential Renewable Energy Solutions (NRES) program for 2025 — including a school‑specific funding pool and a first‑come, first‑served incentive allocation — made the projects financially viable again.

Why it matters: the package presented would require no up‑front capital from the district and, as outlined by Teff, could yield both annual utility bill savings and an annual payment from a carport project. Teff said the combined savings and revenue for the four projects would be “just a little bit north of $120,000 per year”; he described Birchgrove as the most attractive behind‑the‑meter candidate (about $20,000 a year in savings and roughly $600,000 over the project lifetime) and the high‑school carport as a revenue source through a fixed annual payment.

Teff described the PPA model: the district signs an agreement to buy power at a fixed rate for 20 years while the vendor funds, installs and services the system. He said the developer GreenSkies would pay all installation, insurance and ongoing maintenance costs. “GreenSky covers all of the costs,” Teff said. “It's simply you're either buying the power if it's a rooftop project or you're receiving the rent payment for the front of the meter.”

Board members raised timing, permitting and grid‑hosting questions. The carport proposal must go before the town planning and zoning commission; Teff said a planning‑board denial would terminate the contract without obligation. He also noted that the district already receives virtual net‑metering credits from an off‑site array that benefit the high school, so placing additional behind‑the‑meter capacity at that meter would not increase that value. On grid limits, Teff said developers check Eversource hosting‑capacity maps and submit interconnection applications; he added that hosting capacity is dynamic and can change as other projects enter the queue.

District staff and board members discussed operational details — canopy clearance, snow removal and how any vendor payment would be applied. Board members asked that staff investigate whether a carport payment could be applied directly to the district’s utility bills instead of appearing as town revenue; Teff said he could check Eversource billing options. Superintendent Doctor Willett confirmed staff would follow up on the town‑allocation question.

No final vote occurred. Board members signaled interest in moving the conversation forward and asked staff to return with finalized legal agreements and billing options; Dr. Willett indicated the board should review finalized documents and that the item could come back for a second consideration on the board’s next round of meetings. Teff and staff gave a tentative construction target of summer 2026 if agreements and incentive reservations are secured.

Board direction and next steps include finalizing PPA contract language with the vendor, confirming how any carport payment would be applied to the district account, completing interconnection and hosting‑capacity checks with Eversource, and preparing materials for a second board review.

The presentation and board discussion covered potential benefits and risks: production guarantees (performance guarantees are included in vendor agreements), the district’s exposure to electricity‑market price swings (a hedge exists because the carport payment is fixed), and the possibility that incentives or component costs could change if the district delays applying to the NRES program.

The board did not take a binding vote and asked staff to return with refined documents and answers to permitting, billing and contract questions.