The Barrington Town Council meets tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall to vote on a resolution authorizing financing for a solar array on the town's closed Landfill 4 and to approve a final agreement with Solect Energy, according to the meeting agenda posted on the town's ClerkBase portal. The vote would formalize a project the council already endorsed in principle on June 30, when members voted 4-0 to authorize up to $1.85 million in financing and approved a $128,520 down payment toward the work.
The project would place a 38,000-square-foot solar array on the southern end of the capped landfill, using a "ballasted" design that sits on top of the surface rather than anchoring into it, so the cap that seals the old landfill stays intact. Solect Energy, a Massachusetts company that has installed more than 900 solar arrays, would build and maintain the system and the town would sell the electricity it generates directly to the grid at a fixed rate, according to reporting on the June 30 meeting first published by EastBayRI.com.
The financing does not require a townwide vote. Assistant Town Solicitor Amy Goins told the council the project qualifies under a state statute, R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-12.2-12.1, that allows municipalities to borrow through what's called an "appropriation obligation" when a project is expected to generate its own revenue. Town Manager Phil Hervey pointed to the town's 2016 financing of LED streetlight conversions as a similar precedent, where annual savings covered the cost of borrowing.
Local sponsorWorld-class website design and custom software at a small business price.Company 50Town officials project the array will produce more than $1 million in revenue over the life of the project, with net income to the town topping $120,000 a year once the financing is paid off after year 15. Those figures are projections from Solect and town staff, not guaranteed outcomes, and a chart presented to the council showed net cash flow turning negative again in years 21 through 25, after the initial 20-year financing period.
The project has drawn some pushback over how the site is described. The council's motion labels the parcel the "Barrington, Rhode Island Landfill," but part of that land is also Robert Gourley Field, named in 2021 for a hammer throw coach who died after more than 35 years working with local athletes. Letter writers raised concerns about the landfill label overshadowing that name. Members of the town's Resilience and Energy Committee, the project team and town leadership have said they worked with the school athletic community to make sure hammer throw events can continue as before.
Committee chairman Michael Kadish told the council on June 30 that he understands residents' caution about spending money but described the array as "a revenue generator," not an expense. No council members or public speakers have been recorded opposing the project.
Tonight's agenda item is listed as "Discuss and Act," meaning the council can take a formal vote rather than simply hear a presentation. Residents can follow along through the livestream link posted on the town's meetings calendar, or review the full agenda on the ClerkBase portal before the 6:30 p.m. start.