Lowell turns former landfill into lucrative solar venture

LOWELL — Solar panels atop the former landfill off Westford Street have begun producing energy for the city, making productive use out of an eyesore, saving money for Lowell, and avoiding the use of greenhouse-gas-producing energy.

The array includes 6,000 panels producing 1.5 megawatts of electricity, which are providing an environmental benefit equal to taking 131 cars off the road for a year, according to the Framingham-based contractor leading the project.

Total savings for the city’s energy bill is expected to be $1.5 million to $2.5 million each year for the 20-year contract. Lowell does not have to pay any of the upfront costs for installation.

The city announced last week that the first phase of solar panels has begun producing energy.

“It’s a great money-saver to us, that we’re producing this electricity on what was a site that didn’t really do anything for us except it’s where old trash was stored,” City Manager Bernie Lynch said. “That’s a great story for us. Along with other solar installations, it’s indicative of what we’ve been trying to do to make the city more sustainable.”

A broader energy agreement between Lowell and clean-energy contractor Ameresco, worth more than $21 million, includes 47 buildings across the city.

The project includes retrofitting electrical and mechanical systems to be more efficient, as well as better insulation and new roofs and windows.

The project is expected to lower the city’s energy bill by 25 percent.

Solar panels have also been installed on the roof of Lowell Memorial Auditorium, at the water-utility facility on Pawtucket Boulevard, the wastewater facility on First Street — which has the largest system so far — and at four public schools.

Combined, the solar projects are expected to supply 6 percent of the city’s electricity usage — half of that from the landfill, according to the city.

In all, the project provides enough clean energy to equal 775 households worth of use, and saves carbon equal to what would be absorbed by 1,270 acres of pine forest.

Jim Walker, Ameresco’s photovoltaics director, said Lowell will take more than 2 million kilowatt-hours worth of electricity off the grid and replacing it with clean energy.

“The city of Lowell is a leader in managing its energy use with a proactive focus on energy-efficiency and renewable energy,” he said.

Solar panels atop the landfill cover much of the south-facing side of the hill, hardly visible from Westford Street or Drum Hill Road. The landfill also includes public-works operations for the city, including a large shed for storing salt, gravel and other material.

Solar panels are also being considered in a separate project for the adjacent Glenview landfill just over the Chelmsford line.

Crews are expected to begin adding material this spring to raise the height of the Chelmsford landfill by about 50 feet. Engineers for the project have said they may also fill in a dip in elevation between the Lowell and Chelmsford landfills to increase the amount of space available for solar panels.

Other communities are also adding solar panels to their former landfills.

Lancaster unveiled a 500-kilowatt, $2 million system on its landfill in December, and Billerica signed an agreement in August with the landowner of the Shaffer Landfill for a planned 19,700-panel project. Littleton has considered a $4 million solar project on its municipal landfill, and Chelmsford was approved in November for a $12,500 technical-assistance grant to study how to cost-effectively generate power at a former landfill off Swain Road.

Energy-efficiency agreements are also becoming more common.

Chelmsford began work in the fall on an $18 million efficiency program that includes rooftop solar panels on each school, retrofitting utilities and lighting in schools and municipal buildings, and installing efficiency LED lights in more than 2,200 streetlights.

The town’s energy bill will be cut by an estimated 43 percent, or $688,000, according to Johnson Controls, the contractor for the project.

Chelmsford’s carbon footprint will also be reduced by the equivalent of taking 431 cars off the road, according to the company.

Shirley also voted last year to begin a $570,000 efficiency project to include seven municipal buildings.

Follow Grant Welker on Twitter and Tout @SunGrantWelker.