The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors (MCBS) voted, 3-2, on Dec. 5 to give Sun Tribe Solar a permanent utility easement through county-owned property along the Middlesex County Sports Complex road from the solar panel project behind Middlesex Elementary School (MES) on school-owned property. Sun Tribe is not paying anything for the easement.
The conduit in the ground brings the power from the solar panels behind MES to St. Clare Walker Middle School. If there is a problem with lines underground, the utility easement is needed to allow Sun Tribe Solar to repair the lines, said Taylor Brown of Sun Tribe Solar.
Brown said the industry norm for the life expectancy of solar panels is approximately 35 years. He also said that through the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Middlesex County Public Schools (MCPS), the schools have gained a “significant discount” over what MCPS had been paying Dominion Power, resulting in approximately a $60,000 annual savings.
Brown stated that Sun Tribe Solar and MCPS had recently renewed the PPA and renegotiated the site lease for 30 years. The original agreement had been for 25 years.
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