SWAMPSCOTT — Money that the town currently puts toward renewable energy credits could someday be used to help pay for solar or other clean-energy projects in town. 

The Climate Action and Resilience Committee discussed several possible changes to the town’s Community Power program, including one that could direct money toward renewable-energy projects in Swampscott and another that could create a fund to help finance multiple projects over time. 

Community Power is the town’s municipal electricity program. Swampscott purchases electricity supply for participating residents and businesses, while National Grid still delivers the electricity, maintains the grid, and sends customers their electric bills. 

As part of Community Power, the town buys renewable energy credits, paying for certificates that represent electricity produced by renewable sources like solar and wind power. Committee members said changes affecting the availability of those credits have led officials to consider whether the money could be put to another use. 

Chair Martha Schmitt presented potential alternatives to purchasing those credits, which would still support clean energy in Swampscott. 

The simplest option, Schmitt said, would be to stop purchasing the credits and return the money to participating ratepayers. Another would be to use the money to help offset the cost of a renewable-energy project in Swampscott, like the installation of solar panels at the high school. 

Committee members said any local investment would have to provide a financial benefit back to ratepayers because Community Power customers are the ones paying into the program.

“If we did that, the residents paying for that program would have to see a benefit,” Schmitt said. “Something would have to come back from the high school project to the ratepayers.” 

Members also discussed whether a solar project could benefit from the state’s Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target, or SMART, program.

Another idea would take the concept further by using the money to help finance renewable-energy projects in a revolving fund, with revenue from one project eventually helping to pay for another.

A fourth possibility would follow a similar model but invest in a renewable-energy project outside Swampscott.

Exactly what the town can do with the money remains an open question. The committee has not settled on an alternative, and members said the ideas still need to be reviewed to determine whether they are legally and financially feasible.

“Some of these things that we’re talking about, we don’t know if they’re possible,” Select Board liaison Wayne Spritz said. “But they’re ideas that we want to float by … to see if they’re rational? Are they legal?”

The committee plans to continue looking into the options before deciding whether to recommend a change.

The post Swampscott explores Community Power funds appeared first on Itemlive.

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