Around this time last year, Belmont residents were pleading with town officials to find a way to make sure solar energy generation was included in the plans for the new Belmont Sports Complex — a feature officials estimated would add another $1 million to the cost of the project.
By June 2025, memoranda of understanding were signed between Belmont and two of the future anchor tenants of the new municipal ice rink — Belmont Hill School and Belmont Day School — to create a funding plan for the installation of solar panels on the building. Between the two, roughly $700,000 was donated. A portion of Belmont Hill’s $500,000 donation served as a pre-payment for two seasons of ice time.
An additional agreement was signed with Belmont Light, which will donate $250,000 to support the solar power initiative, partnering to sell renewable energy credits.
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The fruits of that labor are beginning to show, according to town officials, who say the panels have offered the town “significant” savings in electric costs since they were turned on in November.
“The amount of money we’re saving is significant because of what our electric bill would be if we didn’t have them,” Town Administrator Patrice Garvin told Select Board members recently.
According to data from the town, solar production for the month of December amounted to 15.68 megawatt hours for a value of $2,519. The bill for the month, paid to Belmont Municipal Light, totaled $19,086.
In other words, without solar, the bill would have been the sum of those two numbers, or about $21,665, according to Facilities Director David Blazon.
“That’s what the total bill could have been,” he said. “But because the solar did produce power, we pay the net.”
January produced slightly less, at 10.13 megawatt hours for a value of $1,647. The bill that month totaled $20,487. So, without solar panels, the town would have been on the hook for roughly $22,134.
“We have to let the building run for a year to see how it operates, including how the solar operates,” said Select Board member Taylor Yates, who noted the panels were acquired and installed at minimal cost to the town. “I suspect that in the winter it’s not going to generate that much because of snow, or it’s cloudy. Summer, barring a really rainy summer, is where we’re going to make the most money.
According to Belmont Light General Manager Craig Spinale, January and February are typically the lowest production months for solar, so savings to the town should only improve.
Blazon said he is optimistic about the cost savings in future months, particularly as the days get longer — and snow cover is no longer an issue.
“We have shorter days [in the winter], meaning less sun in November, December, January and February,” he said. “We had so many storms with snow and grey skies, it further impacted the amount of solar collection … The numbers will definitely get better as daylight grows longer … I think we’ll hopefully see those utility bills come down.”
