At the December 12, 2022 council meeting, the Town Council voted 6-0 in favor of authorizing Town Manager Matthew Sturgis to finalize a revised contract for a solar power installation project with Encore Renewable Energy.  The authorization allows Sturgis to finalize a recently revised proposal, over two years since the Energy Committee first recommended that the town move forward with Encore [Article].

Frustrated with the pace of the project, the Energy Committee met with the attorney for the Town, David Littell, to review the details of the proposal and assist in negotiations with Encore.  Littell, who addressed the council at the December 12 meeting, then began negotiations with Encore based on feedback from the Energy Committee.  Little reported that, “They were generally agreeable,” and agreed to a particularly untypical aspect of the contract.  “The ability, if it doesn’t all work out, for Encore to be willing to transfer either the project LLC or the permits and approvals to the Town.  That is not a usual term because usually financing entities have some form of financial security or rights to a project,” Littell said.

Littell said that he has worked on many other similar negotiations and feels that Encore has a fairly good reputation, “They tend to give a lot more and ask for less.”  Asked by the Energy Committee if cancelling the original agreement should be considered, Littell suggested, “It would be hard to find a superior contract.”  “There are particular supply-chain issues with solar and tariffs put on that make this a challenging business; I can’t guarantee that we will not be back here again, but I recommend to authorize the Town Manager to finalize negotiations with Encore,” Littell concluded. 

John Voltz, Chair of the Energy Committee, approached the podium to explain to the council, “This came down to expediency and I think this provides a quick path forward which I highly endorse.  Recent changes in the Inflation Reduction Act make solar, particularly for municipalities, highly attractive.”  Richard Parker, another member of the Energy Committee, added that their original concerns had to do with Encore’s schedule, performance guarantees, and communications.  Following recent negotiations, “Now we feel this is the best approach,” Parker said.  To improve communications, the Energy Committee has asked Encore to provide monthly communication with the town on a uniform basis.  In addition, Parker said, “We have also asked that the stakeholders in the town need to be more informed; the Energy Committee should have a contact source that works with the Town Manager and one person from the Town Council to make sure the committee and the community stay informed.”  The project has the potential to save over $100,000 per year on energy costs, “Every day we delay the town is losing; so it is important that we progress.”

Councilor Nicole Boucher volunteered to the Town Council contact for the Energy Committee.  Chair Jeremy Gabrielson said, “I think it makes sense that the Chair of the Finance Committee is the contact here.”