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Southington board approves project manual for rooftop solar at high school
Summary
The Southington Board of Education approved the project manual and cost estimate for a roughly 600 kW rooftop solar system at Southington High School and authorized submission to the Connecticut DAS so the district can go to market for bids.
The Southington Board of Education approved a project manual and professional cost estimate to solicit bids for a rooftop solar photovoltaic system at Southington High School, the board heard.
Rob Klee, a consultant working on the project, told the board the system proposed is “about a 600 kilowatt system” that would generate “about 840,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in its first year,” and that the district submitted a Connecticut DAS grant request that caps the project estimate at $2,500,000. “The Connecticut DAS grant will cover about 55% of the project, and there are federal fundings…that may cover about 30%,” Klee said, adding that the Eversource incentive the district secured is projected to produce roughly $150,000 a year for 20 years.
Klee described the next steps: if the board approves the manual, the district will submit the packet to the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (CT DAS) for final review and then issue a competitive bid to select a contractor to install the system. The motion the board approved authorizes the chair and the superintendent to sign and submit state form SCG-042 and the related documents for CT DAS review for project number 1310131PV.
Board members did not request substantive changes to the manual during the presentation and the motion carried by voice vote. Administration said the town will own the system once installed.
If bids come in below the estimate, the district indicated that federal incentives and the Eversource payment stream would reduce the town’s share; Klee said the combination of incentives and revenue from Eversource make the project revenue-positive over the expected 20-year performance window. The board’s approval clears the way to go to market this fall and secure a solar developer to build the system.
Next steps: submit the manual to CT DAS for final approval, then release the project to competitive bidding and return to the board with a recommended contractor and final cost details.
