Bow approves lease for solar array on capped landfill

Bow is one step closer to installing a solar array on its capped landfill, a project that would reduce energy costs for municipal buildings.

Town officials approved a 20-year lease agreement last week with Kearsarge Energy to develop the solar array on a portion of the closed landfill on Falcon Way.

Town Manger David Stack said the installation will provide financial benefits to the town and also add Bow to the growing list of municipalities using solar energy.

“We make money on the lease and payment in lieu of taxes for their equipment and again through net metering, we can get some of our energy covered by this project,” he said.

Under the agreement, Bow will lease 4.93 acres of the 14-acre closed landfill to Kearsarge Energy, which will install a 2.4-megawatt DC solar array.

Construction is the next phase, though the timeline has not yet been finalized, Stack said.
The project is one piece of a larger solar initiative in Bow.

Voters at the 2024 town meeting gave the green light to lease sections of town-owned property on Allen Road and Falcon Way for solar arrays, as well as to install a rooftop system at Memorial School.

The Allen Road solar farm is slated for a future phase, and the school is pursuing a separate agreement with Kearsarge Energy, Stack said.

Landfills are considered ideal locations for solar arrays, and many New Hampshire municipalities are taking advantage of them, especially since their open surfaces allow for maximum sunlight exposure.

Dunbarton installed a solar array on its landfill in 2022, and Manchester also has a 3.3-megawatt array on its closed landfill near I-293.

In New Hampshire, solar net metering projects are capped at 5 megawatts.

By developing three separate solar arrays across three distinct sites in town, Bow could achieve a combined net-metering capacity of 6.8 megawatts.

Kip McDaniel, chair of the selectboard, said Kearsarge Energy will handle both construction and management of the solar arrays at no cost to Bow.

“This is good business for Bow,” he said.

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