Speaker 10, a project consultant, told the Michelle Ford Regional High School building committee that Select Energy has "safe-harbored" the proposed solar photovoltaic project, preserving federal and state incentive tax credits while the team completes engineering and sizing work. The consultant said that recent guidance from the state Department of Public Utilities could exempt small municipal projects from certain curtailment restrictions National Grid has applied in saturated service areas, reducing short-term risk.

The consultant said the team will evaluate options with and without battery storage and will develop an energy model to determine the right system size and the best possible power purchase agreement rate. "We have preserved the incentive tax credits," Speaker 10 said, and the safe-harbor status "takes the pressure off of the timing" while engineers model battery-storage scenarios and curtailment implications.

Chair (Speaker 1) summarized committee authority and next steps, emphasizing that the building is being constructed to be "solar ready" regardless of whether Select Energy's proposals move forward. Speaker 10 and several members noted that any long-term lease or PPA involving third-party ownership would likely require school committee review or approval because such agreements can extend over many years.

Committee members asked whether the Department of Public Utilities typically intervenes in local utility interconnection decisions; Speaker 10 said the DPU guidance is a developing interpretation and the team will seek a layperson's explanation from experts before bringing options back to the committee. Speaker 11 and others stressed the need to avoid rushing to a PPA rate without a complete model: over-sizing the system under curtailment risk could increase cost.

Background and why it matters: the committee previously voted to investigate solar options and set aside funds to evaluate feasibility. In this meeting members were explicitly told a final recommendation will wait until the consultant’s modeling and DPU interpretation are complete; the consultant said the group does not expect to seek a decision at the January meeting and anticipates returning in the spring.

The committee also discussed funding and incentives, including potential Inflation Reduction Act rebates and other incentive programs that consultants are reviewing. The consultant said they are working to "right size" the system and avoid producing electricity the building cannot use because of curtailment restrictions.

Next steps: the project team will complete technical modeling, clarify how the DPU guidance applies to this site, and return to the building committee in the spring with comparative options and recommended contract approaches. Final contract or long-term lease approvals would be made by the school committee rather than this building committee.