CET associate director Nancy Nylen urges attendance at Jan. 8 meeting about "community solar" in Williamstown

Solar array in field 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Nancy Nylen, associated director of the Center for Ecological Technology, has issued an email advisory to remind about the Community Solar Meeting set for Thurs.., Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Williamstown Youth Center, 66 School Street. 

"Thank you to all of you who responded with your interest, enthusiasm and information about your electric usage," Nylen writes. "The purpose of the meeting next week is to continue the conversation about community solar and discuss next steps in designing a project that meets your needs. Don't worry if you haven't responded, but are interested in learning more.  We are still in the early planning stage - and welcome your interest and your questions and concerns. If you know someone who is interested but didn't attend the first meeting, that's fine too. Please spread the word."

Nylen is at nancy.nylen@cetonline.org (http://www.cetonline.org) where she can be reached at 413-458-5688, or mobile: 413-884-4561.  She is member of the Community Solar Task Force, which includes Wendy Penner, Charley Stevenson, jason McNair and Stephanie Boyd.

Nylen continues asking potential participants to estimate their annual kWh usage.Example:  approximately 500 kWh/month x 12 months = approximately 6,000 kWh per year.  

She continues:

"You can find this information on your electric bill, by adding up the 12 months of usage shown on the Usage History graph. Or, you can call National Grid's customer service line at 1-800-322-3223 and request an Activity Statement with a year's usage.  If you call and get stuck in the automated system - press "0" - and talk to a representative.      

"We anticipate that participants will purchase a number of shares of the Community Solar project to match their electrical usage. We estimate that each share will be equivalent to about 1000 kWh/year, and that your investment will pay for itself in less than 10 years. 

"We are pleased to let you know that a community member came forward after [an earlier]  meeting to offer a potential site - and we are now taking the next steps to review the property, its potential capacity and feasibility for hosting a community solar array.  We continue to explore other locations as well. If you know of a potential site, of an acre or less that has good south-facing exposure, please let us know.”