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Medfield committee approves LOI to pursue solar-funded roof replacement at Blake Middle School
Summary
The Medfield School Committee approved a letter of intent so vendors can seek an Eversource interconnection and pursue financing for a solar project that backstops a roof replacement at Blake Middle School, aiming to avoid up-front town costs by leveraging tax credits and a 20-year power sale agreement.
The Medfield School Committee on Jan. 15 voted to authorize a letter of intent so project partners can pursue an interconnection service agreement (ISA) and financing for a combined solar installation and roof replacement at Blake Middle School.
Frank Dur, the finance representative for the project, told the committee that incentives and tax credits available now can be positioned so an outside financier pays to install solar and replace the roof and then sells discounted power to the municipal off-taker. Dur said the proposal contemplates an approximately 850-kilowatt system and that "the incentives are so good that often times the solar representative will deliver to you an offer that's enough to get you to sign." He added the financing depends on locking the federal/commercial tax-credit treatment by securing an ISA with Eversource soon enough to grandfather the project.
Presenters noted an estimated roof cost of about $1,120,000 and said the finance model would permit prevailing-wage roof work while shifting maintenance and inverter replacement to the system owner. Committee members asked practical questions about the percentage of roof covered (presenters said under 10% of the current roof section would be replaced now) and the length of the power-purchase arrangement (speakers said 20 years, with inverter replacement the owner's responsibility).
Committee discussion focused on timing and risk. A vendor explained that a finance partner typically provides a small deposit once the ISA is in place and that the ISA needs to be in the queue to lock current federal tax credits scheduled to step down in July 2026. The presenters stressed the approval sought that evening was a nonbinding letter of intent (LOI) to allow pursuing the ISA and related paperwork; committee members were told there is no obligation to proceed beyond that due-diligence step.
A motion to authorize the LOI passed by roll call. No construction contract was approved that night; the vote simply cleared the district to let vendors pursue the interconnection and financing steps that underlie the proposed pay-as-you-go model.
