MASHPEE – Mashpee selectmen unanimously approved the installation of solar panels at the town’s public schools last week.
DPW Director Catherine Laurent said bids that were presented to the town were favorable, and vouched for entering a 20-year agreement with Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative.
“Our recommendation at this point is that we move forward, through CVEC, with a power purchase agreement for all five installations,” Laurent said.
The board eventually approved the agreement.
The parking lots of all three public schools would receive solar canopies. The Quashnet School and Kenneth Coombs School would have solar panels installed on their roofs.
Mashpee Middle-High School would also receive a battery storage panel system, in order to help offset peak demand charges.
Laurent said the project could lead to savings for the town in the future.
“Based on the system sizes that they proposed, we’re looking at over $700,000 a year in electrical savings,” she explained.
Laurent said that while not finalized, construction could start in the spring of 2021.
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