Town meeting approval allows the town to proceed to the permitting phase of the project.
AMHERST – Sometime during Town Meeting which begins Monday night, members will be asked to consider allowing the town to enter into a long-term lease with BlueWave to develop a solar project at the closed landfill.
The meeting, with sessions scheduled throughout May, needs to allow that for the town to proceed with the project to the next phase - seeking permits.
Town Meeting approval will “allow the process to play out,” said Town Manager John P. Musante. The vote doesn’t mean that the project would automatically happen
The town is working with Boston-based BlueWave Capital LLC to build the solar generating system. The project could produce 4.75 megawatts of electricity, enough to provide energy to all town buildings and schools, street lights and more. Depending on the cost of energy over time, the project could save the town about $25 million during the next 25 to 30 years.
But those living near the landfill, which closed in 1988, are saying the landfill is not the place for such a project.
Neighbors at a meeting earlier this month and again at a recent Select Board meeting spoke against the project.
The cap is deteriorating, the landfill leaking and “it’s reckless to rush into anything,” said Katherine Dorfman of Wildflower Drive. She said the cap was deemed too fragile for snow to be dumped there and would not support tons of equipment.
The state has asked the town to regrade the site, something that it has to do regardless of what happens with the landfill.
The town would need local and state permits and the department of environmental projection would have to approve the project, Musante said.
The lease approval “allows us to see what’s possible ... what are all the opportunities,” he said.
The Select Board unanimously supported the article for that purpose. The Finance Committee also supported it unanimously. In its report to Town meeting, the committee “strongly recommends this article due to the significant positive financial impacts the solar array would have for the town.”
The landfill site is regulated by the state; last year the state ordered the regrading. As part of that order, the town needs to continue to monitor the site and report to the state.