In a historic move aimed at supporting renewable energy projects in New England, Unitil Corporation officially broke ground Tuesday on a new 4.9-megawatt solar array in Kingston, N.H., that will be among the largest in New Hampshire once completed and the first to be owned and operated by a regulated distribution utility company in the state.
State and local officials joined representatives from Unitil and ReVision Energy for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site where the 11,232-panel solar array will be built on vacant land off Towle Road.
Unitil, a Hampton, N.H.-based electric and natural gas provider in New England, has hired ReVision Energy of Brentwood, N.H. to serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the project, which will generate enough electricity to power over 1,200 homes.
Thomas P. Meissner, Jr., Unitil's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said Unitil is proud to be moving forward with a project that will be the first of its kind in New Hampshire as it will be the first utility-scale solar array developed by a public utility in New Hampshire.
"Our vision is to transform the way our customers meet their evolving energy needs. This project really best represents how our work accomplishes that vision for our customers. In addition to that, I think the project also represents two things we're very passionate about. We're very passionate about not only expanding clean energy resources here in New England, but also about bringing affordable energy to our customers," Meissner said. "This project is an opportunity to bring both stable electricity prices and savings to our customers over time. That meets our needs for both expanding clean energy choices, but also brings affordable energy solutions to our customers."
Jared S. Chicoine, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Energy, described the Kingston solar array as an innovative project with an expected economic value that will exceed the costs and benefit ratepayers.
"Given the New Hampshire Legislature's direction and priorities, I believe that if the government is going to encourage renewable energy, we should make sure that there are clear benefits - and that those benefits ought to be shared broadly, not just among the wealthy who can afford the upfront cost of installing distributed generation," he said. "If ratepayers bear the cost, ratepayers should see the benefit. We have seen time and time again that if you focus purely on decarbonization and lose sight of costs, it is our most vulnerable citizens who carry the burden. I am hopeful that this project will set a great example of how a ratepayer-focused, all-of-the-above approach to energy can lead to success for Granite Staters."
ReVision Energy Chief Operating Officer James Hasselbeck, a Kingston resident and Unitil customer, said the company with 20 years of experience in the industry was honored to be chosen as the solar installation partner and looks forward to bringing the financial and environmental benefits of large-scale solar projects to the state of New Hampshire and to Unitil.
"It's really incredible to see the town of Kingston host a project of this importance and of this scale in the state of New Hampshire," Hasselbeck said. "This is a far cry from the first solar project I installed in New Hampshire back in 2006, which was roughly 1.2 kilowatts. That's equivalent to two of the 11,000-plus panels that we'll be installing here. Things have come a long way."
The array is being constructed on a 36-acre parcel of land in the area of an electrical substation. A fenced area encompassing the solar panels, inverters, transformers, and other electrical equipment will cover approximately 27 acres. It will produce electricity that will be delivered directly into Unitil's electric distribution system, reducing the amount of energy it receives from the transmission system.
The array, which is expected to be completed and brought online in 2025, is estimated to generate approximately 9.7 million kilowatt hours of energy in its first year of service and is expected to average 8.6 million kilowatt hours annually over its projected 40-year lifespan. Energy production will be optimized through the use of single-axis tracking solar panels that rotate on a single point throughout the course of a day, adjusting position to track the sun from east to west. While there are no current plans to install energy storage at the site, the facility is being designed to potentially accommodate storage in the future.
The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission approved the project in 2023. Under New Hampshire law, utilities can invest in renewable generation of up to 6 percent of their total distribution peak load, which provides Unitil the opportunity to develop as much as 18 megawatts of renewable generation.
While this will be Unitil's first solar array in New Hampshire, it's not a first for the company. The utility's first array was built in 2017 in Fitchburg, Mass., and features a 1.3-megawatt facility known as "Solarway," which has more than 3,700 solar panels.
About Unitil
Unitil Corporation provides energy for life by safely and reliably delivering electricity and natural gas in New England. We are committed to the communities we serve and to developing people, business practices, and technologies that lead to the delivery of dependable, more efficient energy. Unitil Corporation is a public utility holding company with operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Together, Unitil's operating utilities serve approximately 108,500 electric customers and 88,400 natural gas customers.
