The company hired to install solar panels at the Bay Spring Community Center will not do that work unless Barrington officials also hire them to install panels on the middle school roof.

At its meeting in January, the Barrington Town Council approved a small solar installation at the Bay Spring Community Center. Allen Giles, a representative from Massachusetts-based Solect Energy, told council members that the photovoltaic installation would save the town money, create an independently-powered emergency shelter, and provide educational opportunities to students and residents.

But at their May 1 meeting, Council members learned that Solect would only complete the community center installation if town and school officials green-lighted a much larger installation atop the Barrington Middle School roof. 

The reason? Money.

Officials have said that the smaller installation only makes financial sense for Solect if it is combined with the larger rooftop installation at the middle school. 

Currently, the Barrington School Committee is exploring the idea of installing solar panels atop the middle school roof. Giles and Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey attended a recent School Committee meeting and asked school officials to sign off on a lease agreement with Solect to install the middle school panels. 

Committee members said they wanted to explore the option of the school department owning the installation and not leasing it from Solect or another company, as it could impact the financial benefit to the town. The building is already solar-ready. 

At the May 1 meeting, Council members briefly discussed the situation and later, Kate Berard asked if they needed to pass a motion specifying that the Bay Spring Community Center deal was dependent upon a future middle school solar installation. Amy Goins, the town’s assistant solicitor, said they did. 

The Council later voted 5-0 to approve that specific agreement. 

The deal will require voter approval at a future Financial Town Meeting. 

Bay Spring deal

According to a presentation to the Council by Solect Energy in January, the system at the Bay Spring Community Center will include solar panels, a battery that could store generated electricity, a fence surrounding the installation, and electrical panel upgrades. Giles said the system would not cost the town any money. 

Solect Energy will pay for the project, and the town will enter into a power purchase agreement. In an earlier interview, Magnus Thorsson, the chairman of the town’s Resilience and Energy Committee, said the system would operate behind the meter — it would sell excess electricity back to the grid and also continue to power the Bay Spring Community Center’s needs in the case of an outage.