RUTLAND, Vt. – Green Mountain Power today issued a request for proposals for the construction of the Solar Center at Rutland Regional, a solar farm and educational center planned for Allen Street.
The project will include a 150-kilowatt solar farm and educational information on renewable energy, and is expected to become a destination for local schoolchildren and adults.
The solar center will be built on Rutland Regional property surrounding two stormwater retention ponds just south of Allen Street, adjacent to the hospital’s walking path.
GMP, which will own and maintain the solar center under a 25-year lease agreement with Rutland Regional, will credit the hospital for 10 percent of the project’s output. The remaining energy will go onto the local electric grid and will be consumed by local GMP customers.
The RFP, issued today and distributed to all Renewable Energy Vermont members, seeks a solar developer to build the project, once permitted by the Vermont Public Service Board, later this summer.
Bids are due on May 3, and GMP plans to announce the winning bidder May 17. An optional on-site bidders’ meeting will be held at the site on April 17 at 1 p.m. Pending permitting, GMP expects completion this summer.
“We look forward to using what is otherwise unproductive space to generate clean, renewable energy,” President Thomas Huebner said. “This is good for Rutland Regional and the community at large, and furthers the goal of making Rutland the Solar Capital of New England.”
GMP has already completed the Creek Path Solar Farm, a 150-kilowatt project on Cleveland Avenue; purchased an ownership stake in the Green Lantern project off Woodstock Avenue; issued an RFP last week for an 18.3-kilowatt project on the roof of the company’s new Energy Innovation Center; and is in the final planning stages for the Stafford Hill Solar Farm, which is expected to have capacity of 2.3 megawatts or more.
The Solar Capital effort is intended to spur solar investments in Rutland, add to Vermont’s mix of renewable energy in keeping with state policy, and give Rutland the highest solar capacity per capita of any city in New England.
“These projects are helping us provide a clean, affordable energy mix, which is exactly what our customers tell us they want,” said Mary Powell, GMP’s president and CEO.
The RFP documents can be found at: http://www.greenmountainpower.com/creative/solar/solar-center-at-rutland-regional/.
About Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power (www.greenmountainpower.com) generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity in the state of Vermont. The company, which serves more than 250,000 customers, has set its vision to be the best small company in America.
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