Beverly To Install Solar Panels At 6 Municipal Sites

BEVERLY, MA — More than four decades after some of the nation's first solar panels were placed at Beverly High School the city is planning to significantly expand its ability to generate solar energy with six new municipal panel sites.

Mayor Mike Cahill's office said the installation of 4.3 megawatts of energy-producing panels will offset nearly all municipal electricity consumption and will put the city on the path to beat its climate resiliency goal of using regional clean energy to supply 100 percent of municipal operations by 2030.

"We looked at all city sites for opportunities to install solar panels and cut greenhouse gas emissions to sure our children a bright and healthy future," Mayor Mike Cahill said. "This project meaningfully reduces our carbon footprint, contributes clean energy to the electric grid and saves the city money on electricity."

In 1981, Beverly High School was one of eight sites in the United States that then-President Carter chose for an experimental solar panel installation. One row of solar panels from the historic hillside solar array will be kept to demonstrate the advancement of solar technology, presenting opportunities for renewable energy education to Beverly students.

The new panels will be located at Beverly High School, Beverly Middle School, the 10 & 11 Pond Street parking lots, the rooftop of City Hall, the Beverly Council on Aging and the Beverly Police Station.

Kearsage Energy will develop, construct, own and operate the 4.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic arrays.

These panels will be in addition to the 2.6-megawatt solar array built in 2013 at Beverly Regional Airport, and the 4.9-megawatt project at the capped landfill on Otis Road.

Officials said the project will cut down on carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to more than 390,000 gallons of gas annually.

Construction at the 10 & 11 Pond Street parking lots, Beverly Middle School and Beverly High School will begin later this month.

Later in the year, rooftop solar arrays will be installed at City Hall and the Council on Aging and, on a separate timeline, rooftop solar and a parking canopy will be constructed at the new police station.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)