Officials from Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo) were joined by state and local personnel to celebrate the completion of the utility’s second large-scale solar facility. Located in Springfield, the 2.3MW project uses 8,200 solar panels and sits on a former foundry site in the Indian Orchard area of Springfield.
“Investments in renewable energy cut long-term energy costs, create local jobs and bring us closer to meeting our statewide clean energy goals,” said Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. “We have 67MW of solar energy installed statewide–equal to the amount of electricity used by 10,600 households annually–and this project builds on this accomplishment by keeping this economic opportunity here in the Commonwealth.”
Massachusetts has set a goal to install 250MW of solar generation by 2017. The Indian Orchard solar facility joins WMECo’s Silver Lake Solar site and is said to be the largest solar generation facility in the New England.