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Cohasset subcommittee advances RFP preparations for Deerhill and Osgood school solar arrays
Summary
The Cohasset Alternative Energy Subcommittee on March 19 advanced steps to issue a request for proposals for a proposed solar array at Deerhill and Osgood schools, asking the schools' legal counsel to review RFP documents, seeking historical usage data from National Grid, and compiling a vendor shortlist.
Tanya Bodell, chair of the Cohasset Alternative Energy Subcommittee, said the group is preparing to issue a request for proposals for a proposed solar array for Deerhill and Osgood schools and urged moving the item onto the School Committee agenda as soon as it is able.
The schools have forwarded the draft RFP documents to their legal counsel for review, Bodell said, and Assistant Town Planner Julia Gillis told the Subcommittee she has not yet received feedback from counsel. Gillis also said she is working to gain access to National Grid’s online portal to pull historical usage by account and would like three to five years of data to inform sizing and financial comparisons, though she described access as a “nice to have” rather than a prerequisite for issuing the RFP.
The Subcommittee discussed procurement formats the town has used in prior solar projects. Bodell and staff said the draft paperwork follows the town’s standard solar procurement documents, and members discussed two approaches for structuring credits and pricing: a traditional fixed-price contract or a fixed-price credits model. The group agreed it would be useful to ask bidders to provide proposals under both structures to permit direct comparison of costs and credits.
Committee member Doran Hole said he has contacted multiple solar firms and narrowed the outreach list to six companies; he plans to further shorten the list and provide contact names for RFP distribution. The Subcommittee discussed letting vendors propose the approach they believe best fits the town’s parameters while also requesting both pricing structures for comparison.
There were no formal policy votes on the solar project during the session. The only formal action recorded was a procedural motion to adjourn the meeting: Committee member Chris Oddleifson moved to adjourn, Tom Daley seconded, and the motion passed on a 4-0 roll-call vote (Tanya Bodell, Doran Hole, Tom Daley and Chris Oddleifson voting AYE).
Next steps identified at the meeting include awaiting the schools’ legal-review feedback, continuing efforts to secure National Grid account access and historical usage data, and finalizing the RFP distribution shortlist so the Subcommittee can present the timing to the School Committee for scheduling.
