Some Saugus town properties may go solar

SAUGUS – Solar energy may be coming to Saugus after town officials have been discussing proposals to install solar panels at the landfill behind the public works department.Town Moderator Bob Long, Town Manager Scott Crabtree and Joanne Vannah, the chairman of the Saugus Alternative Energy Committee, have been looking at the site with representatives from Tangent Energy Solutions.?I just came from a meeting with Scott and we had a telephone conference with Tangent,” said Long on Thursday. “We?ve had some prior conversations about what could be done here in Saugus, everything from consumption and how to reduce it and install panels in certain buildings.”Long said Tangent is waiting to get approval from Crabtree to look into how much energy town buildings use to see if solar panels would be feasible.?They want to make sure the numbers work and get the data necessary to make a judgment as to what the benefits would be for the town,” said Long. “We?ve had several meetings. If you?re talking about the town building, you?d be looking at reducing our kilowatt usage.”Long also mentioned installing panels at the pumping station to reduce energy costs, while Vannah said the schools are also being looked at by a different company.?Our initial interest had been the landfill and Scott had mentioned the public safety building because it has a newer roof,” said Vanna. “At the end of the summer they visited all of the schools in Saugus and we gave them a list of all the schools in Saugus and their age. They looked at all the roofs and the electrical rooms.”Vannah said a final analysis on the schools will be presented at the January 3 Saugus School Committee meeting.Depending on how many panels are installed, Vannah said new solar panels at the DPW could generate up to one megawatt of power.?We would be leasing the land to the company so there is the potential to generate revenue for the town, which is always a focal point,” said Vannah. “It would basically offset the electrical costs for the town. The next step would be doing some type of feasibility study and that?s what?s being negotiated ? We?re happy everyone is giving this consideration.”One key variable is the fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington. Alternative energy tax credits could potentially be cut if a deal isn?t reached by Monday. Vannah said this could have a big effect on any proposal for solar energy.?It will all depend on what happens with the law for the tax credits which is going to be decided at the end of this month,” said Vannah. “Right now if that remains, getting 30 percent tax credit would be fabulous, but we probably wouldn?t bring anyone in until we know if that?s going to be retained.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].