RMLD Signs Green Energy Contracts

Two new contracts will provide Reading Municipal Light Department with additional green energy options, the utility announced earlier this week.

RMLD recently signed contracts with Swift River Co. and Concord Power and Steam to provide renewable energy options. The new power supply contracts will increase RMLD’s renewable energy portion of its power supply from 3.5 percent to 9 percent, the utility said in a press release.

“The RMLD strives to acquire the most reliable and environmentally responsible power supply sources at prices that will keep its overall costs stable,” said Vinnie Cameron, the utility’s general manager. “[The contracts] will complement the already excellent energy efficiency and conservation program developed by the same department over the course of the past two years.”

It was not immediately clear whether customers would see a cost savings as a result of the contracts.

The contract with Swift River will go into effect by the end of this month and will provide power from three small hydroelectric plants. The deal with Concord Power and Steam will provide power from a biomass project in New Hampshire and will go online and the end of 2012, according to RMLD.

The hydroelectric power from Swift River will come from plants in Pepperell, Russell and Turner Falls. The contract will provide three megawatts of electricity, enough to power 2,500 homes, according to RMLD.

The Concord Power and Steam contract will utilize wood-burning and co-generation capabilities to provide five megawatts of power to RMLD.