Woburn finance committee approves 20-year solar PILOT for Onyx Development at 120 Commerce Way

The Woburn Finance Committee voted to approve an order authorizing the mayor to enter into a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement with Onyx Development Group LLC for a rooftop solar installation at 120 Commerce Way.

The committee’s approval covers a 20-year agreement valued initially at $3,006,606.53 for a 0.26715-megawatt DC system, with annual increases of 2.5 percent. John Connolly, chief appraiser in the assessor’s department, told the committee the city’s valuation follows its existing solar pilot guidelines and the agreement mirrors prior solar pilots the city has used. “The actual initial pilot is $3,006,606 dollars and 53¢ based on that megawatt that we established for valuation within the city,” Connolly said.

The committee discussed how Massachusetts law and recent state rules affect accounting for solar pilot payments. Connolly explained that earlier regulations had those pilot payments counted as part of the tax levy, but later changes moved them into municipal receipts and onto page 3 of the recap, which affects how the funds are allocated. He also noted the city’s guideline uses a valuation benchmark of $13,500 per megawatt.

Mayor representation and city staff were present to answer questions; Charlie Doherty, the city auditor, joined Connolly at the table. No substantive objections were raised from the committee. A member moved to approve the order authorizing the mayor to enter the PILOT agreement; the motion carried.

The committee’s approval authorizes the mayor to sign the agreement; the transcript record does not specify the name of the member who made the motion or a roll-call vote tally.