Danbury’s $13M solar roof project at schools, library paused due to state reimbursement uncertainty
DANBURY — The plan to install solar panels on several school roofs is on hold over questions about the state’s reimbursement of the project.
School administrators were told last week that the state would only help pay for solar panels on roofs that are five years old or younger, Superintendent Kevin Walston said.
“Given that information and as our partner with the city, the request is now to stop the project until we can re-evaluate and evaluate it,” Walston told the school board on Wednesday.
The board was set to vote on education specifications for the solar panels at King Street Intermediate School on Wednesday, but raised the item in light of the news.
King Street, Danbury High School, Broadview, Rogers Park and Westside high schools, and Danbury Public Library are expected to receive solar panels under the approximately $13 million project. Danbury had hoped for an $8 million refund from the state for the school play. The project would save schools $700,000 annually in long-term energy costs, officials said last month.
But Mayor Joe Cavo still has hopes for the project and the state funding.
“I don’t get nervous that early,” he said on Thursday.
It seems there is reason to be optimistic. The state is still reviewing Danbury’s application.
“I have not turned down any applications for a roof at Danbury at this time,” said Kosta Diamantis, director of the state’s agency for grants and assessment of school structures.
The state would pay for solar on newer roofs if the schools can demonstrate that the project would not violate the warranty on their roofs, he said. His office doesn’t want schools to return to the state a few years later that need repairs to roofs that would otherwise be covered under warranty.
“We’re not doing any repair work, and more importantly for the district, it’s no longer under warranty on the roof,” Diamantis said. “We are happy to work with the cities to make sure they stay on top of this information.”
Typically, the state encourages communities to install solar panels when installing new roofs.
“One of the things we want to do is make sure taxpayer dollars are used efficiently,” Diamantis said. “We promote energy efficiency in all our buildings.”
Cavo said city officials should get more details from the advisory team that has been working with Danbury on the plan for months.
“It is still too early to say whether this will go ahead,” he said. “I would like to see it go further. It should also fit the city. It must be good for the taxpayer. If not, we won’t do it.”
Board member Richard Jannelli was disappointed by the setback.
“This is really a shame, a big disappointment,” he said, noting that the project was publicly applauded.
He accused the consultancy of failing to warn the city about the refund rules. The advisors, NV5, could not be reached for comment.
Sometimes energy companies misrepresent what the state will pay, Diamantis said.
“We want to make sure that the districts get the value of the credits and not the companies doing the installation,” he said. “This is tax money. We want the energy efficiency and the savings from those efficiencies to go back to the taxpayer and cost savings.”
Jannelli said he felt the work of city and school officials had been “wasted.”
“It’s a tremendous amount of work that has been done to jump through hoops in a short amount of time,” Jannelli said.
But Cavo said the time spent evaluating the roofs is still worth it to the city. The city has not spent any money on the project and will not do so if the plan does not materialize, he said.
“All we’ve spent on this is time,” he said.
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