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Council amends solar agreement, moves forward with ground lease for closed landfill project
Summary
The council adopted an amended agreement removing immediate power-purchase terms and authorized execution of a ground lease with Blackwater Road Solar LLC (affiliate of Amaresco) for a solar project on the closed Somersworth Sanitary Landfill Superfund site; staff will hold follow-up talks with the school district on a future PPA.
The Somersworth City Council on May 19 adopted amendments to agreements with Blackwater Road Solar LLC, an Amaresco affiliate, to proceed with a ground lease to develop a solar array on the closed Somersworth Sanitary Landfill Superfund site on Blackwater Road while deferring the power-purchase agreement (PPA) terms for later discussion.
The nut graf: Staff and councilors said updated developer estimates reduced the city’s anticipated share of the off-take and suggested the developer would source additional off-take from other communities; councilors and staff therefore amended the agreement to proceed only with the ground lease and pause PPA language while the city explores involving the Somersworth School District to possibly capture future credits or revenue.
City Manager Scott Bellmore told council that initial assumptions about the city’s load covering a percentage of production had changed — Amaresco moved from a projected city share near 93% to estimates of 85–90% and had indicated it might use another community for the remainder. Bellmore and staff recommended removing the PPA from the amendment now and proceeding with the ground lease only. He said staff reached out to the school superintendent and scheduled conference calls with Amaresco and the school department to explore whether the school could be folded into a future PPA arrangement that would create revenue or credits for the city and school.
Councilor Crystal Paradis Catanzaro moved an amendment to adopt the redlined version provided by the manager’s office that removes or suspends the PPA language; Councilor Vincent seconded. The amendment and the amended resolution (55-25) were adopted. The measure authorizes the manager to execute the ground-lease amendments. The council did not finalize a PPA and directed staff to pursue coordination with the school department and return with options.
No dollar amounts or contract terms for the ground lease were read into the record at the meeting; staff said future discussions about PPA terms and possible expansion would follow the school-department conversations.
