By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(Nov. 19, 2020) The town of Berlin is hoping for a grant through the Maryland Energy Administration that will allow them to obtain a 23kW rooftop solar system at the electric facility on Schoolfield Street.

ALLY LANASA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
If the $47,000 grant from the Maryland Energy Administration is approved, Berlin will install a rooftop 23kW solar system on the electric utility facility at 113 Schoolfield St. to provide renewable energy.

“We were the first to submit,” Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood said of the program, the deadline for which was last Friday.

The cost of the system is $55,000, and the grant would cover $47,000.

“The [$8,000] left is born by the town,” Fleetwood said.

The $8,000 is in the town budget, he said, but added, “We are going to be into conversations with the installer to see what we might be able to do in-house as far as in-kind service to reduce that.”

Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence said the purpose of the solar system is twofold.

“One is green energy, which is renewable energy sources. We’re mandated by the state of Maryland by year 2030 that 50 percent of our purchased power sold has to come from renewable energy sources: wind, biofuel, solar,” Lawrence said. “The highest percentage of that requirement is from solar, so we’re trying to be good stewards of the environment and then also to satisfy our REC [renewable energy credits] requirement.”

Lawrence said the town is required to buy a certain amount of renewable energy credits (RECs) annually based on load or power sold.

“By putting in a solar system, we’re actually reducing our REC requirement by about 27 solar RECs, because we would have had to pay for them on our purchased power contract,” he said.

Fleetwood added that Maryland Senate Bill 0677 and House Bill 1392 are critical for small municipal electric utilities because they call for a cap on Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, resulting in a potential $2 million cost-savings for Berlin.

The solar contractor went to the electric facility on Schoolfield Street on Monday to measure the roof and evaluate the structure.

“We’re just getting everything … lined up and ready to go prior to the approval of the grant,” Lawrence said.

The solar system is manufactured by Solar Energy Services in partnership with Carter Machinery.