Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solar Net Metering topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Solar Developer Offers Newport Discounted Net‑Metering Credits; Council Tables Agreement for Legal Review
Summary
Green Lantern Group proposed a 500 kW solar array in Derby and offered Newport City discounted net‑metering credits (proposed 700,000 kWh/year) that would save the city roughly $12,000 a year with no upfront cost. Council voted to send the draft agreement to legal counsel and table the item.
Sam Carlson of the Green Lantern Group presented a commercial net‑metering proposal to the Newport City Council on March 6, describing a planned ~500 kW AC ground‑mounted solar array in a reclaimed gravel pit in Derby and an offer for Newport City to buy net‑metering credits that would reduce the city's electricity bill.
Carlson said the array is expected to produce about 875,000–900,000 kilowatt‑hours per year and that the company is seeking the Public Service Board’s certificate of public good before construction. He explained how net‑metering credits are valued and monetized and described the company's offer: sell the city 700,000 kWh of net‑metering credits per year at a 10% discount to the credit’s modeled value, producing an estimated savings of about $12,000 annually for 20 years. "There’s no upfront cost of doing that. There’s no liability. There are no operating costs. It’s pure savings," Carlson said.
Carlson warned the council of regulatory uncertainty: draft rule changes under consideration in Montpelier could limit a single customer’s net‑metering equivalent to a 500 kW array, which combined with the city's existing 200,000 kWh agreement (with Great Bay Hydro) may constrain Newport to an additional 700,000 kWh under new rules. He described administrative steps, reconciliation procedures and a production reconciliation in the agreement to prevent the city from overpaying for credits it does not receive.
Council members asked detailed questions about the per‑kWh pricing and how the developer would be compensated; Carlson explained the example math (an illustrative blended credit value of about 16.92¢/kWh reduced by 10% to about 15.23¢/kWh yields the savings). Several members requested legal counsel review before committing, and the council voted to table the item for attorney review and to place it on a future agenda for further consideration.
The developer left the meeting with a request to have Newport’s legal counsel review the draft net‑metering agreement and to return the item to a future agenda after counsel's recommendations.
