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Council hears options for school rooftop solar as vendor warns of looming July 4 tax-credit deadline
Summary
Select Energy showed council members three procurement options for rooftop solar at Rogers High and Pell Elementary — lease, power-purchase agreement or town purchase — and urged a feasibility study because a 30% federal investment tax credit could phase down after July 4; councilors asked for more data before any commitment.
A memo and presentation on rooftop solar for Newport schools prompted a detailed discussion at the City Council meeting on June 22 as Select Energy outlined trade-offs between leasing roof space, signing a long-term power-purchase agreement and a city purchase that could capture federal investment tax credits.
Jeff Steele, a Select Energy representative, told the council the company had been selected through a Power Options competitive procurement and that the “investment tax credit … is phasing or fading out, July 4.” He framed three paths: a lease (no upfront cost to the city), a power-purchase agreement that could provide a stable rate, and direct purchase, which could allow the town to claim a 30% direct-pay credit and yield larger long-term savings. Steele estimated a preliminary 20-year lease payment of about $640,000 for Rogers and modeled a purchase scenario producing roughly $1.3 million in net value over 20 years, with a payback near 6.5 years for Rogers under current assumptions.
Beth Cullen of the Newport School Committee said the district is paying substantially higher bills at Rogers than city hall, adding, “We're paying between 65 and $70,000 a month at Rogers only,” which prompted councilors to press administration for clearer utility-rate and meter data. Steele warned that hosting-capacity limits set by the utility could constrain the maximum array size at Rogers and that upgrades or new infrastructure could add time or cost.
Councilors debated who would finance a purchase, what financing (municipal bonds, the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, bank loans) would look like, and whether the administration should pursue a nonbinding letter of intent (LOI) so Select Energy could complete feasibility engineering and utility studies. The city manager and Select Energy described the LOI as nonbinding and primarily intended to pay for site-specific engineering and utility checks; Steele said the LOI would give the company confidence to invest in predevelopment work but would not commit the city to construction costs.
Some council members urged caution about the compressed timetable: “We’re being asked to make some type of decision by July 4,” one councilor said, calling that “far too quick a time frame for far too much money.” Others noted the city has already negotiated lower fixed electricity rates for some meters and is pursuing net-metering approaches that would cut projected bills even before solar arrays are installed.
No vote or resolution to sign an LOI was taken at the June 22 meeting. Administration and Select Energy said more detailed feasibility work and comparisons with other financing structures would be provided to the council; Select Energy asked only that the council consider allowing engineering and utility outreach so the firm could produce concrete cost estimates and interconnection information.
What happens next: The council asked administration to return with more specific numbers, including verified utility rates, hosting-capacity information, and financing scenarios. Any decision on purchase, lease or PPA would require further council action and likely a separate resolution or contract approval.
