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Brookline.News
Professional local journalism in Brookline MA
The town is planning to spend $3.2 million in fiscal year 2027 to fund four new “shovel ready” solar energy installations at Brookline High School, the Brookline Village Library, Fire Station One and the Hayes School. Leftover funds will be used for additional future sites.
The installations are part of a strategic solar initiative that a town committee says will save $12 to $15.7 million over 25 years, depending on utility rate inflation.
A working group tasked with identifying opportunities for town-owned solar energy projects identified 22 sites as strong candidates, including potential building rooftops, carport canopies and ground-mounted solar arrays. Four locations were chosen as “Phase 1” sites, while the rest remain contenders for future solar projects.
Funding for the projects is coming from the Capital Improvements Plan, a part of Brookline’s budget geared at long-term investments in physical infrastructure in the town.
The Solar Financial Working Group aims to reduce energy costs while advancing Brookline’s climate goal of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. In November 2025, the Division of Sustainability and Natural Resources established the working group with representatives from the Select Board, Zero Emissions Advisory Board, the Expenditures and Revenues Committee, and town staff.
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Part of the timing is that the town is aiming to take advantage of an expiring federal Investment Tax Credit to invest in solar energy infrastructure. If the town owns the renewable energy project, a tax credit can cover about 30% of the overall cost, said Alexandra Vecchio, director of Sustainability & Natural Resources.
“However, the program is being phased out by the Trump administration, and so we have some hard deadlines,” Vecchio said during a March 18 presentation to the Advisory Committee.
The plan also comes as the town is facing extreme budget pressure and asking voters to raise their property taxes this spring to help fund town and school services. Town Administrator Charles Carey said at a March meeting that the initiative will help both to promote energy independence and bring energy costs down for Brookline in the long term.
There are two major deadlines for these tax credits. The first requires that projects commence construction on or before July 4, 2026, and then be placed in service through the electrical utility within four years. One project, previously funded solar panels to be placed atop the Driscoll School, will meet this deadline, according to Vecchio.
The second will cover solar panels placed in service on or before Dec. 31, 2027. “We are going to do our best to meet that December 31st deadline,” Vecchio added.
Town hall was removed from consideration due to concerns that make the solar installation financially irresponsible, Vecchio said. The town’s solar developer concluded that the roof is too small and the building’s height and high-density location would require bringing in a heavy-duty crane.
A fifth installation at Pierce School will be funded separately from the capital improvement plan as part of the $209.9 million Pierce School Building Project. The town has acquired preliminary quotes from Solect Energy, a solar power developer, for the other projects.
Seventeen additional sites have been identified as future installations outside of the federal deadlines. The $3.2 million will fund the initial four projects as well as technical assistance and engineering designs for the next wave of municipal solar arrays.
The town owns two small legacy solar systems, each roughly 15 years old: one on the roof of Putterham Library and the other on top of the Public Health Building.
Brookline also has several 20-year power purchase agreements with Solect Energy, allowing the company to use several municipal rooftops in exchange for a cheaper electricity supply price. These privately-owned arrays include Brookline High School, Runkle School, Ridley K-8, Kirrane Swimming Pool and the Municipal Service Center.
Altogether, Brookline estimates the town-owned and power-purchase agreement arrays have saved $355,645 in electricity costs through fiscal year 2025, since the town’s first small solar panel went online from Putterham Library in 2011.
A larger solar array is under construction atop Driscoll School. It is expected to be completed this year and to produce about 25% of the school’s electricity. The town projects that the panels will save $57,530 in electricity generation that would otherwise be paid to Eversource.
On March 25, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that the Department of Energy Resources certified seven new Climate Leader Communities, including the town of Brookline. This makes the town eligible to apply for grants up to $1,150,000 each for projects that reduce municipal emissions, or for technical support ahead of projects.
“As a leader in ecological protection and net-zero emissions goals, Brookline continues to do Massachusetts proud in putting our climate ambitions into action,” said State Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem (D-Newton).
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