Community Toolkit > Energy > Renewable Energy > Solar Power

Solar Power Installations

Brockton, Massachusetts

Community Profile: Brockton is a densely populated, medium-sized city of approximately 95,000 residents. The city is situated about 20 miles southeast of Boston and is governed by a mayor and city council.  

Project Outline:

In March of 2006, after five years of negotiations, analyses, and planning, the City of Brockton received the final go-ahead to begin the construction of New England's largest solar array on a reclaimed 27-acre brownfield site. Brockton Mayor James E. Harrington signed a contract with Global Solar Energy for the company to take the lead on the project. The project is being guided by Brockton’s Brownfields Coordinator, Lori Ribeiro Colombo.

Nicknamed the “Brockton Brightfield,” the 500 kW (with plans and built-in funding mechanisms to expand to 1 MW) solar photovoltaic array will include up to 6,720 solar panels capable of producing more than 535 MWh of electricity the first year. Landerholm Electric Company, a Brockton-based company, will perform installation, security, and operations and maintenance services.

Cost & Savings:

• The cost of the project is estimated to be $3,037,000 with $2.1 million being financed through city funds and grant funds provided by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roofs program, a precursor of the Solar America Initiative, which supported the conversion of idle brownfields to solar parks.
• The annual CO2 savings will be 298 tons.
• Lessons learned from the Brockton Brightfield project include educational benefits highlighted through interpretive displays and cultivated through multiple levels of educational programming, a highly leveraged financing plan that requiring only $3.00 per Watt in subsidies, and that the project fit within the broader DOE-funded "Million Solar Roofs" partnership program that will add complementary solar installations citywide and increase the overall visibility of the project.
• Currently, the U.S. Department of Energy is offering incentives through their Solar Energy Technologies Program and the Solar America Initiative.

Connecticut Resources:

• See Connecticut Clean Energy Communities Program (Solar Panels for Connecticut Towns)

Maine Resources:

• For current information regarding the Maine Renewable Resources Matching Fund contact Betsy Biemann. For incentives visit Efficiency Maine Incentives and Applications. For solar rebates, information, and applications visit the Maine State Energy Program.

New Hampshire Resources:

• For property tax incentives visit the NH Renewable Energy Program site or contact Joseph C. Broyles. For solar rebate program information visit KeySpan Energy Delivery or e-mail KeySpan Energy.

Vermont Resources:

• For sales tax exemption information through Renewable Energy Vermont contact Andrew Perchlik. To learn more about the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation’s Solar Rebate Program contact David Hill.