District updates board on energy contract: solar, fuel cell, grants and Bank of America financing

District facilities staff and project partners updated the board on the status of the district’s energy performance work and related incentives, including solar, a planned fuel cell at the high school and financing for the energy contract.

Officials said they are finalizing locations for solar arrays (on rooftops at Norton and ground-based or carport systems at Barnum), and that six solar submissions to the Connecticut distributed-generation program (NRES) have been filed. The district also submitted an application for a fuel cell at Cheshire High School and expects state action on the solar applications in mid‑October and fuel-cell review in early November.

The district is pursuing investment tax credits for geothermal elements and working with external auditors and its owner’s representative. Financing through Bank of America for the energy performance contract has been approved by the bank and the town’s bond counsel; staff said closing is targeted for Oct. 31. Project partners continue to develop energy-conservation measures such as full HVAC replacement at Doolittle, roof replacement where solar will be sited, window replacement, building-management-system upgrades, and priority town items (police boilers, wastewater fuel cell).

District officials emphasized that some renewable elements were fast-tracked to secure incentives and that nonrenewable conservation measures remain under development with Johnson Controls. Staff said they expect a second-round list of conservation measures in mid-November and will continue coordinating grant and incentive paperwork with the state and project partners.

What happens next: Project teams will continue funding and permitting work, respond to state reviews of NRES and fuel-cell applications, and return to the board with updates as approvals and financing progress.