By Bill Cantwell
bcantwell@eagletribune.com
October 03, 2008 11:36 am HAVERHILL — When the sun shines on Haverhill, it will be more than a beautiful day. It will be one that brings electricity straight from the sky to homes. Haverhill is one of four sites in Massachusetts where solar power facilities will be built. The facilities will collect a modest amount of energy from the sun and will be test sites for future solar collection sites expected to be built around the state, said state Rep. Brian Dempsey. National Grid has received the state's approval to build the solar collection stations. The others will be built in Revere, Everett and Dorchester. "To have Haverhill chosen as one of the first is exciting,'' Dempsey said. "Haverhill can become a leader in terms of solar power. This is the wave of the future ... planting the seed of this kind of energy.'' The facility will be built on an empty lot at 98 Hilldale Ave., just outside Lafayette Square. Dempsey said National Grid will work with the city to make sure the facility's appearance is not offensive to neighbors. National Grid spokeswoman Deborah Drew said the facility will produce enough electricity to power 240 to 250 homes a year. The four stations combined will provide enough power for about 12,000 homes a year, she said. Drew said the company plans to build the Haverhill facility next year. She said it will consist primarily of the kind of solar panels people put on their homes, only bigger. They will be mounted on blocks on the ground. Dempsey has worked on a variety of energy-related bills and issues. He is the House chairman of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. He said the solar stations are part of a larger statewide effort to use alternative energy, including the development of turbines to harness wind power. A turbine collects wind power at the Covanta trash plant on Ward Hill and several other locations in the city are being considered for windmills. National Grid said it plans to eventually install devices to collect solar energy on buildings across the state. The company estimated it will cost $38 million to design and build the facilities in Haverhill and the three other communities. The cost should be offset by the amount of energy produced and related subsidies, the company said. "These installations are just a start for us,'' said Tom King, president of National Grid operations in the United States. "In the coming months, we expect to expand our program to include installations on customers' properties, including municipal, state and federally owned buildings. Massachusetts' public schools also are included." Haverhill has plans to install solar panels on public buildings. In the United States, National Grid delivers electricity to about 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern United States, serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.
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