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ARFA update: county flags Unitil interconnect as potential timeline risk for solar project
Summary
County staff reported ARFA (ARPA) spending progress and said Unitil’s timeline for interconnection could affect completion of a county solar project, though the county has pre-paid certain connection costs.
MERRIMACK COUNTY — County staff gave an update on ARFA projects and said most are proceeding but that the county’s solar installation faces a potential schedule risk tied to Unitil’s interconnection work.
Staff said they filed the first-quarter 2025 ARFA report and moved the county’s top nine active projects to the front of the tracking list. The presenter identified the solar project as the most likely to be affected by timeline issues because Unitil must complete the interconnect work to energize the system.
Officials said the county prepaid roughly $1.7 million for the Unitil connection; that payment has been made, but Unitil’s scheduling of its engineers and interconnection work remains the principal uncertainty. County staff reported monthly coordination meetings with Unitil and other parties and said they have offered storage space for materials such as poles and transformers, an offer Unitil had not accepted as of the update.
Commissioners asked about potential clawbacks of unobligated ARPA/ARFA funds; staff said the only guidance heard so far concerns clawback of unobligated funds and that they had not heard broader clawback action beyond that. Staff said they planned additional meetings to press Unitil on schedule and that, as of the update, they expected to meet deadlines but continued to monitor the interconnection timeline.
No formal action was taken; the update was informational and will be reflected in follow-ups with the project team.
