Amesbury Landfill Solar Plus Storage Project, Amesbury, Massachusetts

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Amesbury, Massachusetts is home to the largest solar plus storage system to-date. The 4.5 megawatts of direct current (MWdc) solar project was installed with a 3.8-megawatt hour (MWh) lithium-ion storage solution on the former Titcomb landfill cap site. This was one of the first solar plus energy storage projects to participate in the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program and is expected to produce 5,600 MWh. The power plant was developed, financed, and built by Kearsarge Energy LP, in partnership with NEC Energy Solutions for the energy storage component. Spanning across a 16-acre area, the system is designed with 11,376 solar panels, 50 ‘60 kW’ inverters, and a ballasted RBI ground-mount. Features include a battery energy storage system to optimize energy distribution to the utility grid. The project will produce 5.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, powering about 440 homes and preventing 4,000 tons of CO2 from releasing each year. That’s equivalent to taking 870 cars off the road. Kearsarge will own and operate the system and will use it to provide energy capacity services for the New England ISO market, the first in Kearsarge’s 250-MW pipeline to incorporate energy storage. This consistent revenue source takes up little space and allows the project to provide services for the grid that wholesale electricity markets need and will pay for beyond the value of the electricity itself.  The City of Amesbury, direct benefits to the City include generation of tax and lease revenue and energy credits that will reduce municipal spending on electricity worth almost $4.0 million over 20 years Amesbury is among 40+ public organizations in New England and New York to partner with Kearsarge on renewable energy development initiatives.

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