Meet Installer night

On week ending May 24, MassCEC and Solarize Chelmsford will announce our selected Installer and schedule a "Meet the Installer" night, to provide more details on the assessment process and start sign-ups. Stayed tuned for updates!

Nearing Installer Selection Process!

We're nearing the end of our Installer selection process that began last month with proposals from 8 companies who bid on the Chelmsford-Carlisle solar photovoltaic (PV) program. The review team included town and state representatives and a technical consultant provided by MassCEC. Last week we interviewed the top three candidates to ask questions about their company and their proposal. We completed our final ranking on Friday 5/10. Now it is up to MassCEC to complete the "matchmaking"; if several towns have selected the same installer as their number choice, a determination has to be made whether that company can effectively service all the towns simultaneously. We expect this decision and contracting to be completed within a week, at which time we can announce our Installer.

Chelmsford is going solar!

Chelmsford was selected by the State on April 5, 2013 to participate in the Solarize Massachusetts program. How can this help you? In 2012 this program helped 749 residents and businesses in 17 towns to install solar photovoltaic (PV) technology to generate clean, renewable electricity. Discounted tiers of pricing will be offered to homeowners based on the number of enrollees. During 2012 participating customers were able to purchase solar electricity systems for 20% less than the statewide average price.

Chelmsford is partnering with Carlisle for this program, which should allow us to reach the highest levels of discounts by combining our purchasing power! What is the schedule for signing up for this fantastic program?

• Mid-April – Outreach volunteers will receive training from the State and assistance selecting a Solar PV Installer
• Late-April/early-May – Televised public event, “Solar 101”, explains the details of the program and will open to input from Chelmsford residents and businesses
• Late-May – Introduce our Installer
• Early-June to late-September – Start the process of signing up for assessment and installation of solar panels

Have you always wanted to be a Solar Volunteer? There are a variety of tasks that our solar volunteers can provide help with, such as connecting with residents or local organizations, event planning, tabling educational information, conducting research using Google Earth (to find good locations), and developing media content including artwork and writing. We expect this will require a lot of publicity over the signup period from May through September, 2013.

For more information, or to sign up for email alerts of upcoming news and events, or to volunteer your help with community outreach, please contact:

Marc Grant, Chelmsford’s Solar Coach

Solarize@townofchelmsford.us

978-656-1353.