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Parishville to consider creating solar energy on former landfill to supply power to town buildings, street lights

Posted 1/23/18

By MATT LINDSEY PARISHVILLE -- The Town of Parishville will explore the idea of using solar energy to provide power to government buildings, streetlights, the water plant and other town-owned …

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Parishville to consider creating solar energy on former landfill to supply power to town buildings, street lights

Posted

By MATT LINDSEY

PARISHVILLE -- The Town of Parishville will explore the idea of using solar energy to provide power to government buildings, streetlights, the water plant and other town-owned facilities.

Town Supervisor Rodney Votra says Apex Solar will give a presentation tonight at the town board meeting at 6 p.m.

This is the first step and talks are still preliminary, he said.

“This is not a huge project like the wind farm,” Votra said.

The project would be built at the old landfill, which has not been used in over a decade. There is about 40 to 50 acres of space.

If solar power is installed, the town would be the owner of the project and beneficiary of the power.

“The benefit would be to the town exclusively,” he said.

Apex Solar’s only involvement would be installation.

“The landfill property can’t be used for much of anything,” Votra said, which makes it an ideal space for such a project.

A cell tower company explored the idea of building a tower there previously, but ultimately decided against it.

Votra said he had solar installed at his home recently by Apex and wondered what a larger project might do for the town.

“Clarkson did a similar project — if we did this it would connect to the same power line,” he said.

Votra said tonight’s meeting will offer preliminary information to the board to determine if the idea is something they wish to pursue or drop it.

Financial aspects of the proposed project will be discussed at the meeting as well.

Votra said the project would pay for itself after 5 years and the lifespan of the solar farm is about 25-30 years.