Solar plan cuts Windsor 'footprint'

Windsor’s wastewater plant is going solar.

Construction is expected to begin next month on a solar array at Windsor’s water reclamation plant that will put a significant dent in the town’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The panels will generate 663 kilowatts, or enough to power about 440 homes.

The power will be used at the wastewater plant to replace about one-third of the electricity it buys from PG&E at a cost of $500,000 annually.

The solar panel installation will cost $6.3 million, but Windsor won’t be footing the construction costs.

Instead, a solar contractor, Windsor Water and Solar Technologies of Ewing, N.J., will raise the money from investors to build the solar array, then sell the electricity back to the town through one of its companies.

Over 25 years, the arrangement is expected to save Windsor about $170,000, according to senior engineer Craig Scott.

But the bigger advantage is in the greenhouse gas reductions. The solar power will help Windsor accomplish almost half of its goal of reducing greenhouse gases 20 percent below 2000 levels by the year 2010.

“I’m excited,” said Mayor Debora Fudge. “This is the first big thing we’ll be able to do to make a difference.”