pMORRISTOWN — Town officials have agreed to become part of a tri-county solar energy consortium led by the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services aimed at saving municipalities money on their annual electric bills./ppMorristown joins a growing list of municipalities and school districts across the region interested in teaming up with the BOCES-led tri-county group. In St. Lawrence County the initiative already includes the city of Ogdensburg, the Ogdensburg City School District and the Norwood-Norfolk and Colton-Pierrepont central school districts./ppThe Jefferson-Lewis BOCES goal is to build a network of 2-megawatt solar power arrays at approximately 30 locations around the three-county region, according to John Warneck, a consultant for the project./ppMr. Warneck has been visiting municipalities and school districts throughout the region over the past year in an effort to get as many government entities on board with the plan as possible./ppHe said the group’s hope is eventually to produce between 60 and 80 megawatts of power that would generate 95 percent of the power used by the various organizations involved in the project./ppIn December Mr. Warneck told the Morristown Town Board that the municipality could expect to see a 40 to 50 percent savings on its total electric bill, if the consortium is built. In order to be part of the group, the town would have to supply a 12-acre site, with three-phase power nearby, where the solar panel array could be built./ppThe town has tentatively offered a 12-acre site owned by the municipality along county Route 2, but it is reportedly just one of several other potential sites being looked at, according to officials./ppPlanning for the ambitious Jefferson-Lewis BOCES-led tri-county project began in 2014. The planning stage of the initiative is being funded through a $150,000 state Energy Research and Development Authority grant. The grant covers costs associated with the early planning stages of the concept, which calls for developing a network of solar arrays across St. Lawrence, Lewis and Jefferson counties./ppThe Morristown Town Board voted unanimously recently to sign on for the plan. Under terms of the intermunicipal agreement, the town’s decision to join the group only demonstrates the municipality’s interest in further exploring the concept and does not obligate the township or its taxpayers to any financial commitment./p
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