Building a large solar generator is an important step towards reaching our vision of supplying customers with power that has low carbon emissions, low cost and high reliability, said Mary Powell, president and chief executive officer of Green Mountain Power. Solar power is extremely low in emissions, and perhaps best of all, with the help of declining solar costs, grants and tax credits, this project will be cost effective for our customers.
We very consciously bid the project among Vermont companies so this project would support our green economy and create jobs here at home, said Ms. Powell
The permitting process has begun and the project is expected to be completed this summer. This solar plant will be an important milestone for Vermont in terms of realizing cost-effective, utility scale solar generation, said Leigh Seddon, vice president of Alteris Renewables.
The Berlin project is Green Mountain Power’s third solar installation. The company has recently installed a 58-kW solar power system at Green Mountain Power’s Westminster, Vermont, service center, which provides 80% of that facility’s electricity requirements. It also has four-kW solar panels at its Colchester headquarters, which offer enough electricity to power its two plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Green Mountain Power will develop a website with generation data about the plant, which will be available to the public and particularly useful to school groups who study renewable energy and choose to tour the location.
