Bedford marks solar array ribbon cutting; council discusses community power and EV charging options

Town Manager Rick Sawyer reported that the Chubbuck Road solar array was dedicated May 11 and will publish production data online; he noted the Library is expected to become net-zero for electricity because of the array.

Councilor Becky Soule, who attended the ribbon cutting, said it was “nice to find out that the solar array was going to make the Library a net zero building.” Staff and councilors discussed community power implementation and whether default municipal rates would be lower than Eversource’s default rate. The council also reviewed a DPW proposal to use solar-charged batteries to charge municipal equipment and pursue federal grants to install EV charging stations for municipal and public use. Sawyer described the DPW concept as using the new solar field to charge batteries during the day and charge electric vehicles overnight.

Councilors asked about commercial charging and revenue models, noting that many grants restrict charging fees and that most towns that have public stations face electricity-cost challenges. The Council asked staff to investigate grant opportunities and to report back on viability, siting (for example, the end of Chubbuck Road), and potential revenue-sharing or leasing arrangements with private vendors.

Why it matters: The solar array turns a long-term capital project into operational benefits (reduced municipal electricity use and REC revenue). Council discussion signaled interest in using the array for municipal electrification and exploring public charging infrastructure and related grants.