The Old Bait & Switch
- Mike Clifford
- Jun 18, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 6, 2020
“In North Smithfield, the loophole is being used to split a proposed 43-megawatt solar facility on a 400-acre site into nine contiguous projects”. (Excerpt from “ecoRI News” article, June 13, 2019, link below)
Really, a loophole is being used by a developer in our little town of North Smithfield? Honestly, in light of the stunts that have been pulled over the last three years I’m not at all shocked. What concerns me even more are the misleading promises by town officials regarding the alleged windfall of tax revenue the town would receive from the solar project.
If any taxpayer still believes the Town is going to see a “windfall” of tax revenue in the excess of $400,000 a year as suggested last year by our town leaders, I’m afraid they are going to be disappointed. The proposed formula which determines the “windfall” is based on the megawatts (MW) of energy the project produces. The formula calls for payment of $7,000 per MW. Most of dollar amounts used as an enticement to gain public support for the project were based on a 57.5 MW facility being built. After gaining approval from the Town Council for the solar overlay district, the developer notified town officials that they now intend to build a smaller facility which will generate approximately 43 MWs. Do the math folks; the projected “windfall” tax payments have already begun to fall, and like an earth shattering stock market plummet, I doubt we’ve seen the bottom yet.
In addition, whatever tax payments the town may receive will inevitably come out of taxpayer’s pockets. State law requires National Grid to pay a “premium” above fair market price for energy it purchases from solar developers. I’m guessing we can count on that premium being paid for by another rate increase on NS homeowners from National Grid.
Town officials fast-tracked the project by approving a solar overlay district in which large scale commercial solar arrays are allowed. This tactic enabled the project to bypass the normal initial review by the Zoning and Planning Boards; that was a big red flag to many opponents.
Personally, I never believed any of the political rhetoric about the tax revenue benefits which is one of the reasons I opposed approval of the project. I continue to believe the town will eventually realize a fraction of what was promised by our leaders and whatever dollars we eventually do receive will come out of taxpayer’s pockets one way or another.
Link to ecoRI News article.
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