Artists view of proposed solar panels installed on the Fairhaven Landfill

Every once in a while a project comes along that everyone can support. The Town of Fairhaven, MA has just such a project. They are proposing to build a solar power plant on top of the town landfill turning a ‘brown site’ – ‘green’.

The proposed plant will generate about 500kw of energy which the town can use to off-set a portion of the municipal electricity load. Panels will be placed mainly on the flat, top portion of the landfill which has very good southern exposure. Access to the site is through a commercial zone and there are only a few houses nearby so impact to neighbors will be minimal. The panels will be nearly invisible to most of the town because of the location of the landfill and the low profile of solar panels as compared to wind turbines. And the energy generated will not be just electric, the Selectmen hope to excite local school children with educational programs on solar power using the plant as a real-world teaching tool.

Representatives from the Town of Fairhaven, Mass DEP, Blue Sky Power, Smith Energy LLC, and Nexcepts visited the site on a rainy day

Under the leadership of Dr. Brian Bowcock, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, a Request for Proposals (RFP) to install solar panels on the town’s closed landfill was issued over the summer. The town received one qualified proposal from a team of Massachusetts renewable energy developers led by Blue Sky Power and including Smith Energy, local solar firm Lighthouse Electrical, which has installed numerous solar projects in the Commonwealth, and the nationally known engineering firm Nexcepts. The Board will present the proposal and the developer(s) to the Town at it’s Fall Town Meeting for approval. Once the town has voted to approve the project construction is projected to start in the spring of 2010.

View of Hastings Middle School (top left) from the Landfill

The project is expected to receive strong support from all levels of State government. Governor Deval Patrick has been a strong supporter of renewable energy. In April 2007, Governor Patrick established a goal for installed solar power of 250 MW by 2017, up from 4 MW installed at the time he took office.   Also, on June 17, 2009, The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and Department of Energy Resources (DOER) presented a workshop for municipal officials, solid waste consultants and renewable energy project developers about the unique issues surrounding the development of solar or wind installations at closed landfills – a representative from the Town of Fairhaven and one of the proposed project developers attended this session. The Mass DEP is planning more similar sessions further demonstrating their interest in seeing projects like Fairhaven’s succeed.

Artists view of porposed solar panels installed on the Fairhaven landfill

Fairhaven is located along the south coast of Massachusetts, about 50 miles south of Boston During the 1800s, the whaling industry and its related marine trades contributed greatly to the town’s growth making it one of the wealthiest communities in the world. Between 1885 and 1906, Fairhaven benefited greatly from the gifts of magnificent European style public architecture donated by native son Henry H. Rogers, a multimillionaire from his career in the Standard Oil Company. A grammar school, library, town hall, high school, Unitarian Church, and the public water system were among the gifts given by Rogers.

The generosity of Rogers and the can-do spirit of the town bode well for the success of this project.

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