City HallTuesday, November 3
Newport's council advances a school solar study with a public-bidding condition
The New in Newport team
If you follow how Newport spends on its schools, here's the latest. On Oct. 28, the City Council voted to advance a rooftop solar feasibility study at Rogers High School and Pell Elementary School with Solect Energy, on the condition that the company agrees to a public bidding process.
The agenda listed a letter of intent for preliminary engineering, design and cost estimating. Director Teresa Crean said it doesn't obligate Newport to contract with Solect. At the schools, monthly utility bills can average $60,000.
$60,000what monthly utility bills can average at Newport's schools
Those are the bills at the schools where Solect would study rooftop panels.
Source: ecoRI News
- Options Solect pitched in June: ownership, lease or power-purchase agreement
- Vendors answering the city's request for information: one
- Providence is doing 12 schools with Solect, Crean said
Councilor David Carlin argued the letter commits the city to a vendor before competitive bids. Council member Stephanie Smyth saw nothing "nefarious," since the League of Cities and Towns had already narrowed the field.
Council members split over Solect's letter of intent
| Member | Where they stood |
|---|---|
| David Carlin | Wanted the RFP demanded in the amendment |
| Xay Khamsyvoravong | Called it "a bad precedent to set" |
| Stephanie Smyth | Saw nothing "nefarious" |
| Mayor Charles Holder | Didn't want panels on either roof |
| Lynn Underwood Ceglie | Lone vote against the amendment |
Source: ecoRI News
The same agenda carried second readings on rezoning the roughly 8.5-acre former Navy Hospital site to the Waterfront Campus subdistrict.
Sources: ecoRI News, What's Up Newp