Citizens Energy, an organization founded by Joseph P. Kennedy II, is working with a private energy company, Rivermoor Energy, to develop an $8 million, 1.7-megawatt photovoltaic project.
AGAWAM – Citizens Energy, an organization founded by Joseph P. Kennedy II, is working with a private energy company, Rivermoor Energy, to develop an $8 million, 1.7-megawatt photovoltaic project off Shoemaker Lane. The complex would produce enough energy to power 200 homes.
The Planning Board last week approved site plans for the project, which has been proposed for a 14-acre parcel owned by Westmass Area Development at Shoemaker Lane and Route 57. The site is part of the former Bowles Airport property.
The project has one more local hurdle to clear, approval by the Conservation Commission, because work has been proposed for an area within 100 feet of a wetland.
Brian M. Morrissey, director of solar development for Citizens Energy, said plans call for setting up a complex of solar panels on just under 20 percent of the site. Citizens Energy was founded in 1979 by Kennedy to help low-income people with heating costs. The local project would be done by its for-profit arm, which plows its profits into the nonprofit side of the organization.
Citizens Energy has been involved in renewable energy projects for the past eight years, according to Morrissey. Rivermoor Energy, based in Newton, is a development and investment company specializing in solar energy.
The complex of solar panels would be mounted on framework varying in height from about 2 feet to 8 feet.
“These (panels) are very safe. They are very passive. They are very quiet,” Morrissey said Wednesday. “The biggest benefit of solar is it is very clean. There are no emissions. It also requires no water.”
Site plans approved by the Planning Board include provisions for a chain-link fence with screening to surround the complex that would then be screened from the public by plantings of arbor vitae and similar vegetation.
Electricity generated by the complex would be sold to Northeast Utilities and fed into its power grid. There would be no direct benefits to neighbors of the project for having it in their midst.
Morrissey said the land off Shoemaker Lane has good electrical infrastructure as well as southern exposure.
Morrissey said the project’s proponents would like to break ground this fall and have the facility running in three to four months. The complex would be monitored off-site via computer.
While Mayor Richard A. Cohen stopped short of endorsing the project, he said, “I am in support of solar power in an effort to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”