BERNARDSTON — The Selectboard discussed the possibility of entering a PILOT agreement (payment in lieu of taxes) with the operators of a solar project at 32 Fox Hill Road during its meeting last week.
Selectboard Chair Robert Raymond read a letter from Joe Shanahan, the Clean Energy Collective real estate director managing the project. Raymond said the Selectboard had expected the project to be completed by now, but it is not. The 17-acre ground-mounted solar array to be constructed on the west side of Route 5 was approved in March, having been OK’d by both the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission.
Shanahan explained the company is working through the interconnection process with the utility company and, as a result, the final size of the solar array is “somewhat uncertain.” The Clean Energy Collective intends to start of construction next spring.
Shanahan’s letter also requested a conversation with town officials regarding a possible PILOT agreement. Town Coordinator Louis Bordeaux said he wants to keep the Selectboard updated, but the assessor’s office will handle the next steps in this process, and is responsible for settling on the financial figures for a PILOT agreement.
Selectboard member Brian Keir said it is typical of a large-scale solar project to engage in a PILOT agreement with the hosting town. Few such projects in the state are not part of a PILOT agreement.
According to Keir, the current rate for PILOT agreements in Massachusetts is between $10,000 and $12,000 “per installed megawatt of DC (direct current) capacity.”
“The original design (for the Bernardston system) was around 5 megawatts,” Keir said. “If you did the math on that, you’re looking at $50,000 a year. … That’s the payment in lieu of taxes that comes directly to the town of Bernardston.”
According to Raymond, the tax rate the project would pay would be calculated based on the town’s single tax rate of roughly $19 per $1,000 valuation. The full tax figure is unknown without a full known value of the completed solar array. It’s value will be determined through the Board of Assessors.
Raymond said that, regardless of the final figure, he feels the money being paid to the town will be “just as good or better” through the PILOT agreement.
Bordeaux said the assessor’s office will coordinate a meeting with Shanahan for the near future.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.