Jeremy Foote, a wetland scientist and certified drone pilot, photographs the landfill on Old Orebed Road in Lanesborough for TRC on May 13.
The town of Lanesborough will have a source of revenue in its capped landfill if a plan to put a ground-mounted solar array gets through local permitting.
Community Voices Editor
Jeremy Foote, a wetland scientist and certified drone pilot, photographs the landfill on Old Orebed Road in Lanesborough for TRC on May 13.
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LANESBOROUGH — With revenue running low, the town is moving closer to turning its former landfill on Old Orebed Road into a source of income by leasing the site for a 2.5-megawatt ground-mounted solar array.
The project, proposed by EDF Power Solutions, would generate enough electricity to power nearly 500 homes and bring the town lease payments on up to 12 acres of otherwise difficult-to-use land.
To date, the company’s option to lease the site has generated a small amount of income for the town. The Select Board signed that option with EDF Power Solutions in January 2023.
Since then, the project has now cleared one of the biggest hurdles facing solar developments: a three-year interconnection study to determine whether the array can connect to the power grid without costly upgrades. With that technical review complete, EDF plans to finalize its lease with the town and seek the local permits needed to build the array — a project that could bring Lanesborough up to $132,000 a year before annual increases.
On Tuesday, the Select Board voted to extend the company’s option to lease the landfill land one more time in order to come to final terms on the lease.
EDF was expected to deliver two checks to the town: $5,000 to extend the option for another year, or until the lease is signed, and $20,000 because the interconnection study has been completed.
The town of Lanesborough will have a source of revenue in its capped landfill if a plan to put a ground-mounted solar array gets through local permitting.
The lease — outlined as a 25-year lease with two, five-year extension options — will bring the town $11,000 per acre per year for up to 12 acres, or about $132,000 the first year, with annual increases of 1.5 percent. With 1.5 percent annual increases, the 25-year total would be about $3.97 million.
If both five-year extensions are used, making it 35 years total, the total with 1.5 percent annual increases would be about $5.98 million.
Kirt Mayland is the town’s consultant on this project. He also develops and owns solar projects, including some in Berkshire County.
Mayland said that lease price EDF is offering per acre is “extremely good.”
Now, Mayland said, the project will move into the local permitting process.
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Jane Kaufman is a News Reporter at The Berkshire Eagle. She can be reached at jkaufman@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6125.
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Community Voices Editor
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