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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, February 17, 2010
Western Mass. Electric sites largest solar farm in Mass.
By Jackie Noblett
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Western Massachusetts Electric Co. announced Wednesday it will develop the first utility-owned solar farm in Massachusetts at the William Stanley Business Park in Pittsfield.
The eight-acre site co-owned by WMECo, a Springfield subsidiary of Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU), and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority can accommodate up to 1.8 megawatts of solar capacity. The largest existing solar farm in Massachusetts is about 425 kilowatts.
Utilities were permitted to own up to 50 megawatts of solar generation assets each through the state Green Communities Act passed in 2008. WMECo was the first utility to have its solar construction plans approved by the state Department of Public Utilities, and it has the green light to build up to 6 megawatts of solar initially.
The site, which will serve 24,000 customers in Pittsfield, was one of 25 areas in the utility’s service territory under consideration and was chosen in part because of its close proximity to an electrical substation. The local permitting process has begun, and WMECo hopes to begin construction in the spring.
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