Thursday, August 2, 2012
Delays in the process of selecting a vendor has pushed back by one year.
The hope that Belmont's six school buildings would be retro-fitted with solar electrical panels by the first day of school next month has been eclipsed by the realities of performing significant work in a limited time, according to Belmont Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston. The earliest the panels are now to be installed on schools will be the summer of 2013, said Kingston who explained the year delay by referring to an assistant of his in the Chelsea schools where he was the long-serving superintendent. "She would say 'It takes longer than it does' and it does for all public enterprises," said Kingston of the proposal that is expected to bring long-term savings to the school department's energy account. Speaking to the Belmont …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
School Committee approves action plan towards rooftop solar panels on schools by fall.
Moments after the Belmont School Committee approved moving forward on bringing solar energy to each of Belmont's schools, Roger Colton was in a celebratory mood. In the small vestibule at the Chenery Middle School Tuesday night, Jan. 31, the co-chairman of the Belmont Energy Committee passed out fancy bottles of an unknown liquid to fellow co-chair Ian Todreas and solar power campaigner Phil Thayer to celebrate what each viewed as a historic moment for Belmont's environmental future. "I so excited that it's hard to express," said Colton who said the vote will not only help reduce energy costs for Belmont schools but "will spur a real significant move throughout town for solar and other alternative energy." The culmination of "a year-and-…
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
But critics contend even limited restrictions will deter many from seeking solar power in Belmont.
January's Special Town Meeting will vote on an amended zoning bylaw placing limitations on solar power generation systems in town but only after the Planning Board used more precise language in the proposed changes to placate residents fears that any restrictions would be detrimental to bringing solar power to Belmont. But an official with the state's energy department wrote that an important segment of the measure requiring a special permit created "an unwarranted barrier" to those seeking to place solar panels on their homes and property. After researching and discussing the proposed bylaw for several months and holding a public hearing a fortnight ago, the Planning Board met on Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Town Hall to discuss those community …
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Belmont Town Hall
455 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/solar-panel-limits-on-town-meeting-agenda
157295
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Planning Board set to make Belmont first community with minor rules on solar power.
Belmont’s planning officials and staff said they are well on their way in writing a groundbreaking alternative energy bylaw placing minor restrictions on the installation of solar panels and wind generation units. To his knowledge, Planning Coordinator Jeffrey Wheeler told the board that no other community in the state has a similar bylaw and only a few have wind energy restrictions. “We don’t know how far we can push this,” Wheeler said about his initial draft of regulations on the installation of solar energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy at the Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 11 in Town Hall. “We could be the first community to have one,” he said, pointing out that Carlisle …
42.39627
-71.17714
Belmont Town Hall
455 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/drafting-some-shade-on-solar-panel-installation
157295
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
We want you opinion.
Tonight, the Belmont Energy Committee will be holding a presentation by several private firms who are hoping to place solar panels on residential homes in Belmont, in some incidents at no cost to the homeowner. The 7:30 p.m. meeting on the second floor of Town Hall in the auditorium is the result of changes made this year by the Belmont Municipal Light Department allowing firms to come into town to set up systems which homeowners can reduce their dependency of the electrical power grid. Meeting attendees will learn about inverters, tilt angles and net metering from solar power firms who are willing to trade tax credits for the insallation of solar PV panels for residential homeowners lucky enough to have 2,500 square feet of an unshaded …
42.39627
-71.17714
Belmont Town Hall
455 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/question-of-the-day-ready-to-plug-solar-into-your-house
157295
/locations/5406178
Gregory45
6:28 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
Well, the energy companies do and will likely pass on the cost to the consumer, which, at current installed capacities, at most, would represent a few pounds. Conversely, our oil/gas and coal supplies are adding hundreds of pounds to our bills and the indirect costs of that energy add a lot more to bills elsewhere. Paying less over the longer term means investing in renewables now. Fossil fuels … more ›