Town advances expedited energy performance plan: fuel cells, solar and tight August schedule for IRA incentives

Town staff and representatives from Johnson Controls (JCI) and Energia briefed the council on an accelerated energy performance contract designed to capture federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Investment Tax Credit. The package under development includes fuel cell installations at Cheshire High School (approximately 650 kW) and the Water Pollution Control Authority (approximately 325 kW), rooftop photovoltaic installations across several schools (including Highland, Barnum and Norton), and a carport array at Highland Elementary. Contractors said they would finalize project scope and guaranteed savings for Energia’s review by Friday, July 25, and aim to have a populated contract to town counsel by Aug. 1 to enable a council vote at the Aug. 12 meeting. Representatives stressed the timeline was compressed to secure roughly $5 million in IRA incentives that have near-term eligibility windows. Key technical and permitting points discussed: fuel cells require a site council review in Connecticut (a legislated process addressing emissions and siting); interconnection and utility processes can add cost and time (the town included a $500,000 contingency in the cost benefit analysis in case the gas company requires payment for extending a natural gas line to the WPCA, but staff said that contingency could be removed if the utility confirms a no‑cost extension); photovoltaic arrays sized above certain thresholds (for example, 500 kW) may trigger additional SCADA and interconnection requirements and monthly fees, so the design team scaled some arrays to avoid added utility costs. Representatives said the gas utility has indicated it may cover much of the gas work to connect the WPCA, which could materially improve the project payback; the project also relies on virtual net metering to allocate produced energy across municipal accounts. Staff said they will share full scopes, structural assessments and Energia’s review as soon as they are complete and that the town’s owners’ representative and Johnson Controls will provide certification letters and engineering packages to support council review. The council asked about siting, truck access, visual impacts and approvals; staff said preliminary stamped drawings were forthcoming and that they do not anticipate major siting objections. The project was presented as a single, expedited package for council consideration on Aug. 12; no contract was executed July 23.