Eversource earlier this month received the green light to beef up its electrical infrastructure on Cape Cod, making it easier for Island solar projects to tie into the grid.
Since 2022, Eversource has been telling customers on the Vineyard that the utility company cannot take on any solar projects larger than 15 kilowatts — and in some instances 25 kilowatts — while it plans to beef up a Falmouth substation that services the Island.
The Vineyard Sustainable Energy Committee has reported 1,127 solar arrays currently installed on-Island, up 18 per cent from the beginning of 2020, but expensive grid upgrades stand to cast a shadow over the industry’s progress.
Edgartown selectmen have come to an agreement with a regional energy collective after an earlier impasse about how the town would contribute to the organization.
Following heated discussion, Edgartown selectmen sent the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative back to the drawing board over a $100,000 budget shortfall.
At a turbulent public hearing before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last week, a plan by the Oak Bluffs water district to clear forest for the town’s first municipal solar array came under fire.
A plan by the Oak Bluffs water district to build a solar array off Barnes Road has been downsized, but continues to draw heat from ecologists who oppose removing a large swath of old-growth forest.
