Vote reflects ‘green’ growth

On the warrant is a proposal that would have solar panels installed on the roof at Medway High School, a move that could provide 10 percent of the school’s electricity needs, officials say.

The town is not alone in its pursuit of green alternatives.

In Hopkinton, officials have had solar panels installed at the high school, middle school, and police and fire stations.

And the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust reports that Ashland, Cambridge, Lexington, Newburyport, Newton, and Waltham have had solar power projects in recent years. Since January 2008, when Governor Deval Patrick launched the state’s solar rebate program, the agency has approved more than 1,000 solar electricity projects, most of which are residential or commercial efforts.

The state agency is working with Medway, where town officials say the solar panel installation must be completed by mid-February in order to take advantage of the state’s rebate program.

“People are more interested, and the incentives are helpful in getting people to think, ‘Hey, maybe I can afford this,’ ’’ said Emily Dahl, a spokeswoman for the Renewable Energy Trust.

The Medway solar panels would cost about $1 million, half of which would be covered by the rebates. As part of the proposal, the cost to operate the panels would be picked up by a solar power company hired by the town to buy, install, and maintain the system at the high school. In return, the company would sell the power generated by the panels to the town, at a reduced rate.

School Committee member Shelley Wieler, who is chairwoman of the town panel working on the energy savings contract, said negotiations are underway with a potential contractor, whose name she would not reveal because the contract has not been finalized.

The town would have the option of purchasing the panels over time at a sig nificant discount.

Since the town has no initial costs, the vote tomorrow is whether to allow officials to lease space on the school’s roof to a private company for 20 years.

Backers of the proposal say it makes sense from a budgetary as well as an environmental point of view.

Over time the panels would provide up to 50 percent savings to the town on the enegry produced by the project, said Andy Rodenhiser, chairman of the town’s Planning Board and a member of the energy savings committee.

There would be no ongoing fuel-delivery costs associated with solar power, and the district would get the power at a fixed price, he noted.

“That should help stabilize electricity costs at the high school, which is a fairly expensive property for us’’ to operate, Rodenhiser said.

There is an educational component to the initiative as well. “Students will get hands-on learning, monitoring the output of solar panels,’’ Wieler said.

She said that she doesn’t anticipate opposition at Town Meeting, “but I do anticipate a lot of people wanting to clarify the issue and understand what we’re doing, what we’re getting, and what it will cost.’’

Dahl, at the state’s Renewable Energy Trust, said having more solar energy projects in the works has helped make the process cheaper.

“The cost of solar energy has declined as people become more interested,’’ Dahl said. “It gets the ball rolling and helps the market to eventually become more self-sustaining.’’

Hopkinton had an “unveiling ceremony’’ Nov. 2 for its solar panels. Like Medway, Hopkinton has a third-party arrangement, with Borrego Solar Systems Inc. installing the panels through a power-purchase agreement. Dahl said the state program has contributed $1.3 million to Hopkinton’s project.

Newburyport also has a third-party arrangement, she said. “It’s becoming more popular.’’

Dahl said that solar panels have been installed in Waltham at the William F. Stanley Elementary School, at Newton South High School, at Ashland High School, and at Cambridge’s City Hall Annex.

In addition, 22 solar panels have been installed at Lexington High School.

In Medway, the solar panel project is not the committee’s first energy-saving endeavor. At its recommendation, town officials enacted a $4 million energy services performance contract for the installation of energy-saving unit ventilators in classrooms, cafeterias, gyms, and hallways at the middle school, and at McGovern and Burke Elementary schools, as well as lighting enhancements, water efficiencies, and other energy- efficiency improvements .

The energy savings committee also hopes to pursue a solar panel project at the middle school when more rebates become available, Wieler said. The committee considers their efforts to be important steps toward future green initiatives.

“It demonstrates to the state a political will in the town, should this be successful, that would help align us for more grant money should it become available,’’ Rodenhiser said, “because we’ve already demonstrated an ability to behave responsibly as a community.’’