The owner of a slow-selling environmentally friendly community in Colchester wants to build a solar farm for the nearby high school.
If the Colchester School Board wants it and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund provides money for it, developer Ron Gaudet plans to build a 200- to 300-kilowatt solar farm on vacant private land next to Bacon Academy, which would provide 25 percent of the power need for the high school.
Despite the small return on investment that comes with selling green power at a discount rate to the high school, Gaudet said he and his investors want the project to move forward because it matches the sustainability efforts of their nearby housing project.
“We want to do something to help the environment,” Gaudet said. “We would rather invest in a solar farm and make a small profit rather than put it in the bank and make a small profit.”
In 2008, Gaudet announced the beginning of his White Oak Farm subdivision in Colchester. The idea was to create a sustainable community where all the homes would be powered off the grid using solar photovoltaic technology and geothermal devices to heat the homes. The 260-acre development has room for 135 homes and a land preserve.
In the two years since the announcement, 12 homes have been sold and custom-built to match the new buyer’s energy needs. Those sales have been far below expectations. The $366,000 to $500,000 cost of the 1,600-3,000 square foot homes are priced at a premium of the Colchester media home price of $260,000.
“We thought it would be a little bit faster. We are hopeful 2011 would see a little bit of a change,” Gaudet said.
The major selling point for the homes is the $200,000 energy savings over the life of a 30-year mortgage; but a large reason the houses are affordable for homebuyers is the $42,000 in state and federal government rebates and tax credits each owner receives from the various green features of each house.
Government funding is also the central feature — and a sticking point — for Gaudet’s solar farm for Bacon Academy. Because the electricity sold to the school district must come at a discount to the regular electricity rate, the project needs government backing to become profitable for the investors.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, which provides money for green projects, in November, restarted its program to fund commercial and public solar installations. Until next fall, the fund has $2.4 million available for projects such as Gaudet’s solar farm. Instead of awarding the money on a first-come, first-served basis, the fund switched its policy this year to evaluate all the submitted project and funding the ones that are the most viable.
The funding, which ran out in previous years, should last longer and go to more worthy projects under this system, said clean fund spokeswoman Emily Smith. If all the money isn’t used, it rolls over to next fall.
“We are picking the best projects instead of just awarding the money as the projects come in,” Smith said. Gaudet would have until Feb. 28 to submit his solar farm for this round of funding.
Before that happens, the Town of Colchester and its school board need to decide whether they want a solar farm. While the cost of the electricity would be cheaper, officials must weigh with how the town will purchase and use power in the future, said Greg Plunkett, Colchester director of facilities.
“It is difficult to look 15 years down the road and know what technology will be like and how much cheaper it will be,” Plunkett said.
The 230-acre parcel for the proposed solar farm is owned by the town and is largely undevelopable, Plunkett said. The land is mostly wetlands and very hilly.
Gaudet originally deeded the parcel to the town as part of an environmental reserve adjacent to White Oak Farm, and the town designated it as open space. The solar farm, which would be the town’s first clean energy project, would take up about three acres, which Gaudet would have to lease from the town.
“That’s one of the issues. Is a solar farm the best use of open space?” Plunkett said.
If the solar farm achieves the 300-kilowatt design, it would be the third largest solar installation for an educational facility of the 24 erected in Connecticut. By comparison, the largest solar farm in New England — owned by Hartford-based Northeast Utilities and built in the mountains in western Massachusetts — generates 1,800 kilowatts, enough to power 300 homes.
For Gaudet, the benefit comes from furthering his efforts that started with White Oak Farm. He sees a variety of people buying into the community for its sustainability — young couples with kids, retired people, engineers, doctors, state employees — and wants to expand with this completely new and separate project.
“It is not something you are going to make a fortune on,” Gaudet said. “The investment is really in the environment.”
