Brockton, Ma Breaks Ground For Solar “Brightfield”
The City of Brockton, MA has held a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of Brocktons solar Brightfield. The site will become New Englands largest solar array at a remediated brownfield on Grove Street. The 425-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array–or “Brightfield” — will be installed on Grove St. in an urban park setting along with interpretive displays for educational activities.
Brockton, MA Mayor James E. Harrington
announces plans to build
a solar facility on a remediated land.
“Cities have the power to make a difference in our local and regional environment; and we can do so through our power choices. People are worried about air pollution, growing asthma rates, skyrocketing energy prices, and a dangerous reliance on imported fossil fuels. We need to do all we can to develop alternative sources of energy,” said Mayor James E. Harrington.
Brockton spearheaded the Brightfield project largely because it provides the opportunity to redevelop an idle brownfield with a facility that produces no noise, traffic or pollution in the neighborhood.
Solar photovoltaic panels quietly convert sunlight to electricity without any fuel input. Using electricity generated by Brocktons Brightfield will avoid the emission of about 595,300 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. That is the equivalent of taking 45 cars off the road, or the amount of carbon dioxide that would be absorbed by planting 89 acres of trees. Brocktons project also avoids emissions of other air pollutants–about 1,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 370 pounds of nitrogen oxide per year.
“This is a proud day for the city of Brockton and the Commonwealth as we begin building the state’s largest solar array,” said Renewable Energy Trust Director Warren Leon. “Making a commitment to use cleaner energy is not just good for our environment, it also leads to new job creation at companies across the state. We congratulate everyone involved in this project for their efforts to harness solar energy in Brockton.” Brightfield construction began last month. Global Solar Energy, Inc. and its local partners will design, install, operate and maintain a 425 kWDCSTC photovoltaic system. The system will use 1,395 ASE300 (310kW) modules from Billerica-based SCHOTT Solar, Inc. that could generate over 535MWh of electricity the first year. This is enough to power City Hall and a fraction of the police station load.
“The road to this groundbreaking has been challenging, with many twists and turns,” said Brockton Brownfields Coordinator Lori Ribeiro. “But it is a testament to the power of teamwork that we are here today. The project required two pieces of special state legislation, countless City Council approvals, and about ten separate grants for feasibility studies, predevelopment, installation and educational activities. We were only able to achieve this through public and private partnerships involving numerous partners at the local, state and Federal level.”
The design and installation contract with Global Solar is for $3.037 million, which will be paid through $2.1 million in city funds and grant funds from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and the US Department of Energy (these agencies also supported feasibility studies and predevelopment costs).
Additional grants were provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support experimentation with an innovative model for marketing the green attributes of the project and by NiSource for developing educational displays.
Bay State Gas Company, the property owner, is contributing to the project through its clean up activities, land acquisition, and by adding landscaping and fencing around the property. The company will lease the property to the City for 30 years.
