Forward: This is a special report to the Andover Select Board, prepared and provided to the Beacon by Andover resident and Andover Energy Group member Randall Costa, who, at the 2017 Andover Town Meeting, presented the case for warrant articles relating to energy system upgrades and the installation of a solar-electric system to serve the Town Hall without raising property taxes. The articles passed by voice vote. Since then, Mr. Costa has delivered annual reports on the performance of the upgrades and installation.

Andover Town Meeting in March 2017 approved air-based heat pumps and solar panels for the Town Offices building to save energy and lower costs for the Town and improve the building’s working environment.  The heat pumps were installed in April 2017, and the solar system began generating at the end of October 2017.   

The solar system was acquired through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with ReVision Energy, the system installer.  Under the PPA, the Town pays ReVision for power generated by the solar panels for six years at a below-market rate, and then purchases the system at a discount.  The Town therefore is slated to purchase the system in October 2023.

Here are key results for 2020 (specifically, the 12 months from Nov 1, 2020 through October 31, 2020 – we previously set the reporting cycle this way to allow reporting in time for publication of the annual Town Report):

In 2020, the solar panels again produced more power than expected (23,004 kWhs produced compared to 21,820 kWhs expected).  This performance exceeds the output specified in the PPA by 5%.  This now multi-year trend shows that the Town received good value under the agreement with ReVision and is an indicator that the system will produce reliably for years into the future.  The system’s monitor also shows that each of the individual panels is producing at consistent levels.

The solar system aligns with the needs of the building (in 2020 the building consumed a total of 22,115 kWh, a little less than it produced).

In 2020, the energy upgrades and solar panels together saved the Town approximately $1,033 in electricity and oil costs.  Once the Town owns the solar system, the annual savings will jump dramatically.  

For 2020, if the Town had already owned the system, the savings would have been approximately $3,500.  As fuel and utility rates continue to rise, these annual savings will grow.  The Town would likely be able to save even more by installing additional heat pump capacity to shift more heat to electric instead of oil and minimize export back to NHEC of solar-generated power in the heating months.

Since going live in late October 2017, the Town Offices solar system has saved over 111,000 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, the equivalent of over 840 newly planted trees grown for 10 years.  The Town Offices energy upgrade demonstrates that it is possible both to save money and to help the environment.

The Town is slated to purchase the solar panel system in October 2023.  The purchase price is $17,724, a very substantial discount from the installed value of the system of $59,081.   It is critical that the Town make the purchase at that time, first in order to maximize the Town’s savings over the lifetime of the system, and second because under the PPA the rate paid for power generated by the solar panels will rise if the Town does not exercise its purchase.  

With the annual savings upon ownership, added to the savings the system has provided to date, the system purchase is expected to pay for itself in just a few years, while the system is forecast to have a total service life, with minimal maintenance, in excess of 25 years.

The March 2017 Town Meeting approval provided that the Town would set aside 1/6th of the purchase price (or $2,954) every year for six years from the Unassigned Fund Balance into a dedicated Solar Energy Capital Reserve Fund to fund the purchase.  Because the reserve funds come from the Unassigned Fund Balance there is no tax impact, and this accrual approach minimizes the financial impact to the Town year by year.

Payments that were approved and set aside in Town Meetings in March 2017, March 2018, and March 2019 have now funded half the system’s purchase price.  Assuming Town Meeting approval of this year’s proposed $6,000 set aside and then one further approximately $3,000 installment next year, the Town will be in position to complete the purchase in October 2023.

The Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the Town Offices solar system was October 26, 2017.  Under the PPA, Exhibit 4, Paragraph 17.b., the Town may purchase the system as of the sixth anniversary of the COD, or October 26, 2023.  To do this the Town must provide notice of its intent to purchase to ReVision no later than 90 days before this date, so no later than Friday, July 28, 2023.   

The Town is encouraged to contact ReVision early in 2022 to confirm the terms of purchase in advance of finalizing the amount of next year’s installment for Town Meeting.  It would also be prudent for the Town to provide ReVision with the formal notice of intent to purchase well in advance of July 28, 2023 to leave time to process any ownership transfer formalities.