1. Solar for Hope Hope for Solar
Committee:
Chris Pinchbeck, Langley Willauer, Bill Jones, Ron Smith, Rick Bresnahan, David Hall, Thomas Ingraham, Timothy Lock

2. Site – Proposed Location
Field adjacent to True Park playing fields
Site is large enough and available to accommodate all presented scenarios with room for future expansion

3. Overview of Process
Hope Solar Committee members interviewed several existing Municipalities and Schools similar to our town demographic and compiled results that can be found with our recommendation to the Hope Select Board.
The synopsis: There were no complaints and everyone responded positively to their experiences, enthusiastically recommending the Town of Hope move forward with a solar project.
We finalized details around proposed site – Field adjacent to True Park.
We created a Request for Proposal.
We conducted a site visit for interested contractors.
We analyzed our findings and consolidated all our gathered data in an informational package with our recommendation to the Hope Select Board.

4. Requested 4 Scenarios Additionally,
To generate enough power for Municipal Building loads – Town Office, Salt Shed, Hope Corner and South Hope Fire Stations = 22,000 kWh/year
To generate enough power for the above with additional power to supply supplemental heat pump needs in Town Office and Hope Corner Fire Station = 59,700 kWh/year estimated
To generate enough power for Hope Elementary School loads = 141,000 kWh/year
Option left open for vendor input for generation or combinations The Hope Solar Committee had not foreseen.
Additionally,
Vendors were asked to include a variety of other pertinent criteria such as:
Outright purchase price of each system and/or Power Purchase Agreement pricing structure and example contract.
Qualifications, Projects Completed, Insurance Coverage, Proposed Equipment, Technical specifications, Performance and Warranty Information, Industry Experience, Ongoing Operation & Maintenance plans/costs and Financial summaries.

5. Scenario Outcomes Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario and Company
Upfront Cost
PPA Cost
Savings before Purchase
Vendor claim: Savings over 30 years
Return on Investment with PPA
Scenario 1
1 Municipal
SunDog
$94, kW NA
Revision
$51,200 16kW
Scenario 2
2 Municipal
+ Heat
SunDog
$119, kW
$59,701
$8100
$.125/kWh
$166,809
Claimed 4.5yrs
Revision
$111, kW
$68,798
$5692
$.124/kWh 2% escalator
$186,826
Claimed 5yrs

6. Scenario Outcomes Continued
Scenario and Company
Upfront Cost
PPA Cost
Savings before Purchase
Vendor claim: Savings over 30 years
Return on Investment
With PPA
Scenario 3
3 School
SunDog
$260, kW
$130,190
$-931
$.10/kWh
$180,356
Claimed 9yrs
Revision
$232, kW
$142,526
$3058
$.0954/kWh 2% escalator
$292,834
Claimed 7.2yrs
Scenario 4
4 SunDog NA
4 Open Revision
$318, kW
$192,319
$2204
Blended MSG/SGS rate 2% escalator
$377,470
Claimed 10yrs

7. Synopsis and Recommendation
The Hope Solar Committee is excited to recommend the Town of Hope implement a solar photovoltaic array in the scope of Scenario #2 as presented in Request for Proposal using a Power Purchase Agreement with Revision Energy after review and direction by town attorney of associated construction and PPA agreement terms.
We encourage timely action (completed construction by year end 2019) to insure attractive PPA terms for investor due to Federal Tax Credit step down in 2020 from 30% to 26%.
We recommend the Hope Select Board generate an RFP to qualified HVAC contractors to assess best options for heat retrofit to pair with solar array. Our findings to end thus far were inconclusive.
We feel allocating funds on a yearly basis (roughly $12,000/year) until option to purchase in 6 year period or thereafter TBD, will spread costs over time and will not affect tax mill rate significantly.
Our research has concluded the long term value and monetary savings of constructing a solar photovoltaic array, to help offset the town’s electric and heat costs as detailed, is a fiscally responsible decision, represents positive traction and is better positioned than the status quo.
We also conclude a solar photovoltaic array is imperative in a contribution toward lessening our carbon footprint.