Hampden told solar project at landfill will boost annual payment to about $140,000

Select Board members discussed the solar-plus-storage project at the municipal landfill during the Jan. 21 meeting and were told the town’s annual payment under the lease/power-purchase arrangement will increase once the system begins producing electricity.

A Select Board member said the lease agreement includes an updated payment schedule tied to production: “the annual payment will go to $140,000 a year from the operation of the landfill,” the member said. Staff reported that panels and batteries have been tested and that town and project representatives should coordinate a notification and ribbon-cutting when the interconnection and full production are complete.

Board members also spoke about site facilities at the transfer station — noting a small shed that has no heat or electricity and that the town retains repair responsibilities. Staff mentioned Ameresco and suggested that project staff could be asked to return to the board for a short ceremony when production begins.

The board discussed how increased payments from the project will flow to the landfill enterprise fund and could be used for site repairs. Staff cautioned that capital repair costs should be matched to enterprise-fund retained earnings; no specific repair decisions were taken at the meeting.

Ending: Town staff will coordinate with project representatives (Ameresco and UC Renewables) on interconnection steps, production start, and scheduling a board notification or ribbon-cutting; the board noted expected increased annual revenue but did not adopt a spending plan during the meeting.