The Warren Select Board spent some time this week discussing whether to add a solar array to its new town garage which will get under construction next month.
But now town officials feel the fixed-contract bid they’ve received for the project will allow them to bring it in under cost while also adding solar, something some members were keen to do.
Others were less enthused about the idea and asked that the potential cost savings (or original estimated costs and approved bond amount) be maximized/maintained rather than eaten into by adding solar.
Both factions are right. Of course we should be thinking about adding solar to every single building we construct doing forward. Climate change is not going to lessen, nor its impacts on our infrastructure or on us.
It only makes sense to take every opportunity to green ourselves up. Doing so in this case will still maintain an under-budget project status, but it will provide clean (and more importantly) excess energy to the town. This sets the stage for long-term energy savings and fewer carbon emissions.
But there was hesitation on the part of board members who felt solar could be added later and that taxpayers should save whatever money can be saved on getting the basics of this project built. Of course that is also a valid point of view. We’re all burdened by our onerous state education funding system that escalates our tax bills even as we cut millions from our local school budgets.
There were other issues articulated as well, including push back on the urgency of having to make a decision on solar from the bids received by the end of this month. That’s also fair. The board is going to take a breath and ask for more info.
But that does not mean that opting for solar is wrong. We should be making it our default position to automatically move in the direction of alternative energy when planning for and constructing municipal buildings.
