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Newport, the "Sunshine Town," Cutting Costs with Series of Energy Projects

3/6/2018

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Newport, seat of Sullivan county, is set to install 1.6 megawatts of solar PV at three sites: a field adjacent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, at the town water pump station, and on the town’s capped landfill. The projects will collectively offset all energy consumption in town buildings, including the schools, the library, and other regularly occupied municipal facilities. Newport has also recently converted all of its building- and streetlighting to LED.
 
The 1.6 megawatt solar projects are scheduled to be voted on at town meeting in May. If approved, construction will begin immediately thereafter. The street and building LED conversion processes began in Summer 2017 and took roughly 6-9 months to complete.
 
The solar project will be financed via Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and owned by Norwich Solar Technologies, allowing the town to implement the project at no upfront cost. The project will reduce Newport energy bills by approximately $20,000 annually.
 
The streetlight conversions are saving the town of 6,500 residents between $60,000-$70,000 per year. The building lighting upgrades provide an additional $10,000-$12,000 in annual savings. The lighting conversions have a payback period of 6 months and are funded in part through the Eversource Smart Start Municipal Program.
 
Eversource served as a key partner in lighting conversions, providing technical support and guiding the town through rebate and incentive programs.
 
One challenge to implementing streetlight conversions is obtaining an accurate inventory of streetlights from the utility company. In many cases streetlight fixtures have remained largely unchanged for decades and there can be discrepancies between what is listed in the accounts and what towns actually have on the ground.
 
Sullivan County is following Newport’s lead by exploring opportunities to implement solar projects on some of its underutilized land. Newport staff are also working with the town’s largest employer on a 5 megawatt system that will help the business cut costs.
 
“There are only upsides to these types of projects,” says Town Manager Hunter Rieseberg. “The faster you can do it, the sooner you will start to realize the benefits. We are already realizing savings and putting those savings to good use. It also sends the right message that we as a town want to be responsible in our power consumption.”

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    Henry Herndon

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Local Energy Solutions Work Group
We are here to provide guidance and resources to help local energy groups implement successful energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to make their communities more sustainable.
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Picture
  • LES Work Group
    • About Us
    • Work Group Members
  • LES Projects
    • Conference
    • Renewable Energy Tool Belt
    • Newsletter >
      • July 2020
      • Summer Community Power Update
      • June 2020
      • March 2020 >
        • City, Town, County leaders form CPNH
      • January 2020
      • December 2019 >
        • Community Power Puzzle
      • October 2019
      • September 2019 >
        • Hanover Leads on Clean Energy
        • EE Relationship Managers
      • Summer 2019
      • May 2019 >
        • Spring, Solar in Lancaster
      • April 2019 >
        • John Stark HS Woodchip Boiler
      • March 2019 >
        • Offshore Wind Workforce Opportunities
      • February 2019
      • January 2019
      • December 2018
      • November 2018 >
        • GSS Solar Field
        • Solar Electrician Apprenticeship
      • October 2018 >
        • Derry 86kW Solar Array
        • UNH Biomass Boiler, Froling
      • September 2018 >
        • Littleton COOP Efficiency
        • Solar & Squam Lakes Assoc.
        • September Job Postings
      • August 2018
      • July 2018 >
        • NH State of Charge
        • Claremont Solar Saves $1 Million
        • NH Solar Shares Receives Grant
      • June 2018
      • May 2018
      • April 2018 >
        • View from the North Country
        • Claremont Municipal Champion Award
      • March 2018 >
        • Newport, Sunshine Town
        • Utility Streetlight Tariffs
      • February 2018 >
        • Dover Saves $ on Energy Upgrades
        • Liberty Utilities Energy Storage
        • Phillips Exeter Solar Array
    • Webinars
    • North Country Programs >
      • Weatherize North Country
      • Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for North Country Businesses Webinar
      • Shelburne, NH's Success in Energy Efficiency and Solar
    • For Local Energy Committees
    • Benchmark NH
  • Resources
    • Community Power in NH
    • NH Energy Dashboard >
      • Regional Energy Hubs
    • Case Studies >
      • EE Case Studies
      • Solar Case Studies
      • Biomass Case Studies
    • Events Calendar
    • Energy Policy
    • Energy Planning
    • Benchmarking & Tracking
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Renewable Energy
    • Transportation
    • Climate Resiliency & Adaptation