Renewable Energy
| 2007 | Large Wind Ordinance |
The City adopted a Large Wind Energy Conversion Facilities Ordinance, which enabled installation of wind energy turbines in Worcester by Special Permit with certain provisions for height, buffers from abutting uses, and noise regulations. These new regulations enabled a large wind turbine at the Holy Name Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School. |
| 2010 | Small Wind Ordinance | The City amended its Wind Energy Conversion Facilities Ordinance by adding allowances for small-scale wind turbines (maximum rotor diameter 20-ft, maximum height 95-ft). |
| 2011-2014 | First Municipal Solar Installations | The City installed solar arrays at four sites: Worcester North High School, Sullivan Middle School, Worcester Technical High School, and the City’s water filtration plant in Holden. These installations total 597 kW DC in capacity. |
| 2014-2016 | Solar Net Metering Credit Agreements |
Between 2014 and 2016, the City signed three 20-year net-metering agreements to purchase 12.5 mega-watt-hours of electricity (via net-metering credits on electric bills) from solar farms in Brimfield, Palmer and Rutland. These agreements are saving the City approximately $710,000 a year in electricity costs, while supporting local solar energy projects! |
| 2013-2017 | Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) |
The project’s scope of work was increased to include eleven solar installation projects and retrofit (conversion to LED) of municipal street lights and the lights in four municipal parking garages raising the total investment to $80 million. As a result, the guaranteed savings to the City have increased to $1.7 million per year for 20 years. |
| 2017 | Construction of 8.1 megawatt Municipal Solar Farm |
In June, the city completed construction and turned the switch on municipal solar farm on the former Greenwood Street Landfill. It is the largest municipal solar array in New England (8.1 MW-DC), is an appropriate reuse of a large municipal property and has an anticipated 6-year payback on the investment! |
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