Encore Renewable Energy and Vermont Electric Cooperative announced the commissioning of two new solar projects comprising 4.5 MW of new, clean energy generation in Jericho, Vermont. The two new solar arrays include a 2.3-MW project on the town’s former gravel pit and a 2.2-MW project on the former municipal landfill. These new arrays support VEC’s goals of achieving a 100% renewable power supply by 2030 and represent the fourth and fifth utility-scale solar projects commissioned by VEC, four of which have been developed in collaboration with Encore Renewable Energy.
The Jericho Landfill that served the community for decades was closed and capped in 1992. The Jericho gravel pit provided a source of gravel for town roads for decades as well. The use of these two preferred sites for solar energy generation, as defined by the State of Vermont, allow for additional land within the town to continue to be conserved or to be utilized for other higher and better uses including housing and agriculture.
“Utilizing otherwise undevelopable property for renewable energy and thus turning brownfields into brightfields is at its core a triple bottom line endeavor,” said Chad Farrell, founder and CEO of Encore Renewable Energy. “Our team leveraged our collective expertise, experience and determination to tackle the very real challenges of developing solar arrays on these types of properties, ultimately delivering two projects that offer benefits to the local community while also providing the Vermont Electric Cooperative with a cost-efficient source of renewable energy for its members.”
