GlobalFoundries, OnCore outline 3 MW solar plan for Essex Junction campus; city staff to provide planning letter to PUC

Representatives from OnCore Renewal Energy and GlobalFoundries described a planned 3-megawatt solar array on the GlobalFoundries Essex campus during the council’s March 12 meeting and asked the city to provide an affirmative determination that the project complies with the municipal plan for the state Public Utility Commission’s certificate of public good (CPG) review.

Jake Clark of OnCore said the project would use approximately 6,096 fixed-tilt panels across about 11 acres of an underused parking lot at the south end of the campus. “This project is 3 megawatts. That's, approximately 6,096 panels across 11 acres of the of the parking lot,” Clark said. The installation will use ballasted racking to avoid ground penetrations because underground utilities cross the site; OnCore said removing pavement to install soil and vegetation would complicate stormwater control and increase costs.

Clark said the site is largely screened by trees and not highly visible outside the campus. He explained the primary permitting need is a CPG from the Vermont Public Utility Commission and that one statutory CPG criterion asks whether the project complies with the municipal plan; OnCore requested a city statement that the project complies with the Essex Junction plan to support the CPG filing. Clark added OnCore expects to file the petition in April or May and that the PUC process could take eight to 16 months.

Jeff Grama (recorded as “Jeff Grama”), senior manager on GlobalFoundries’ facilities team, said the campus is targeting roughly 15–25 MW of on-site solar in multiple phases; the 3 MW parcel is part of that larger effort. “Over the course of the year, it probably is only, you know, 3 to 7% of our total usage,” Grama said of the near-term projects, adding that at peak production a larger set of projects could meet 40–50% of instantaneous demand.

Councilors asked about options for solar carports, visibility, pollinator vegetation and whether the panels would reduce parking availability. Clark said OnCore has built carport projects before but those installations require deeper foundations and higher costs; he said this specific site is not suitable for pollinator planting or grazing because of underground utilities and that ballasted racking is the preferred approach.

Planning staff said the planning commission had already reviewed the presentation and raised no objections. City staff will review the project materials and can provide the letter on municipal-plan compliance that OnCore requested ahead of the CPG filing.