​New Hampshire's Largest Solar Project Coming to Hinsdale

HINSDALE, NH — The town of Hinsdale Board of Selectmen voted this week to support an up to 65-megawatt solar project proposed by Ranger Solar, according to a press statement. The project, named Chariot Solar, will be the largest solar project in the state of New Hampshire.

The board also voted to enter into a Payment-In-Lieu-of-Tax (“PILOT”) Agreement for the project, which will stabilize tax revenue to the town for the life of the project. The PILOT Agreement provides more than $10 million dollars in revenue to the town within the first 20 years of project operation, which can be used for new roads, bridges, schools or offsetting local residents’ taxes.

The Chariot Solar project will create approximately 185 jobs during the construction phase and three to six full time jobs once operational. The Chariot Solar project will also generate enough clean energy to power tens of thousands of New England homes and businesses. In just 20 years, the project will also offset more than 500,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to the CO2 emissions from 56,261,956 gallons of gasoline consumed.

The project will be built on private land and will interconnect to existing electrical infrastructure. By using existing transmission lines to bring the power to the regional grid, the project will help limit the need for new electrical infrastructure in southern New Hampshire.

Ranger Solar is committed to developing the project efficiently, safely, and without undue adverse impacts to the environment. Ranger has been conducting environmental and cultural resource studies over the last 8 months. The project will be constructed in a manner that avoids sensitive resources. Further, the nature of the site and screening the perimeter of the project, where necessary, will minimize the visual impact to the surrounding community.

After the useful life of the project, the project will be fully decommissioned and the property restored.

New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) will have jurisdiction over permitting the project. Ranger plans to file an application with the SEC this spring.

“We are excited to be developing this project in Hinsdale,” said Ranger’s Senior Vice President, Paul Harris. “Chariot Solar will generate clean, renewable power that will help New Englanders save money on their power bills. We share New Hampshire’s commitment to socially and environmentally responsible economic growth and we’re proud to be making this long-term commitment to the state’s clean energy economy.”

Hinsdale resident Smokey Smith, one of the landowners participating in the project said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the town and for the state of New Hampshire. Chariot Solar will help establish Hinsdale as a clean energy leader, not just regionally, but nationally.”

Submitted by Chris Stewart

Caption: Ranger's Daniella Changala outlines the details of Ranger's proposed 65 MW solar project in Hinsdale.