Former Congressman Joe Kennedy in Falmouth Thursday
FALMOUTH – Former Congressman and Citizens Energy Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II commissioned a major solar project in Falmouth during a ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
Kennedy was joined by Falmouth Board of Selectmen Chair Doug Jones, in pulling an electric switch to mark the completion of the four-megawatt project that was developed by Citizens Solar.
The flow of clean, green electric power comes from a utility-scale solar array that was built by the company atop an unused landfill.
“Think of the Cape as a really special place, that its environment has to be protected,” said Kennedy.
Boston-based Citizens Energy Corporation was selected in 2015 to develop the four-megawatt solar array through a competitive bid process after Falmouth Town Meeting voted to support solar at the site.
The array occupies 16 acres of an inactive landfill and over the project’s 20-year lifetime, it will return $14 million in economic benefits to the town through energy savings, lease payments and a payment in lieu of taxes agreement.
“The fact that we can make electricity and give a check to the people of Falmouth for $14 million at the same time, I mean that’s a Citzens Energy kind of deal folks,” said Kennedy.
The renewable energy produced by the array is expected to displace 4,000 tons of carbon from fossil fuel plants annually.
The Falmouth Solar Project is Citizens Solar’s 15th array in Massachusetts and represents 90 megawatts of power across 30 projects on the East Coast.
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS and MATT PITTA, CapeCod.com Newscenter
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