Western Massachusetts Electric Commences Building of Indian Orchard Solar Facility

Western Massachusetts Electric (WMECo) has declared the launch of a solar power generation facility in Springfield’s Indian Orchard section. The foundry site owned by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority will be developed to generate clean solar energy.

The solar power production facility at the Indian Orchard section will be placed over 12 acres of land area. The facility designed to generate 2.2 MW of clean solar power will incorporate around 8,200 solar panels. The solar installation is anticipated to be completed during the last quarter of 2011. On completion, the new solar facility will join with the Silver Lake Solar Facility located in Pittsfield and owned by WMECo as one among the biggest facilities in the Northeast Region.

The solar project is expected to bring in around $12M as construction revenue to the region and anticipated to pay a yearly property tax of around $400,000 to the City of Springfield.