The sky may have been overcast last week, but a group inside the town’s wastewater treatment building off Route 202 talked about the sun.
Gov. Maggie Hassan made a stop at the state’s largest solar array in Peterborough Friday to vouch her support of renewable energies.
“I think what you have been able to demonstrate with the town of Peterborough’s leadership for its citizens here is what a win-win can be,” Hassan said. “It’s actually a win-win-win.”
Hassan called the 944-kilowatt solar array a win for the environment, a win for the town and its taxpayers, and a win for clean-energy jobs and investment throughout the economy.
She said her work in the state Senate and as governor demonstrate her dedication to clean-energy development and environmental protection.
Hassan said she co-sponsored the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, helped pass the Renewable Portfolio Standard, and worked to lift the state’s net-metering rule.
“I’m proud of the steps we’ve taken as a state,” Hassan said of her time as a politician.
She said that progress is the framework she will take to the Senate if elected in November.
If elected, she said she would continue to build on her Innovate NH 2.0 plan, which calls for five areas of focus, including the development of the clean-energy economy. She said she would also fight for a national net-metering rule, work to develop an outdated energy grid, and advocate for predictable clean-energy incentives for families and businesses alike.
“I certainly want to thank Gov. Hassan for supporting legislation related to clean-energy technology and setting aggressive goals for energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy here in New Hampshire, which will help us combat climate change and save taxpayer dollars,” said Ed Juengst, a Peterborough select board member, during the event.
Barbara Miller, a Peterborough Select Board member, said people the town take “great pride” in its solar array. She said the array sees many visitors each year, including international tourists who have come to tour the facility.
Chris Anderson, senior vice president of Borrego Solar Systems — the company that initially entered into the power-purchasing agreement with the town although it later sold it to invest in other projects — said the array has also drawn interest from ConVal High School.
In conjunction with the Applied Technology Center, the facility has taken on interns from the high school.
“I was just doing Powerpoints and talking about how solar works [in a class at ConVal] and what we were building across the street and one of the students at the high school came up to me afterward and said ‘Normally we have guest speakers and I sort of tune out,’ he said, ‘but you were talking about my future,’” Anderson said. “You could just tell that he was very engaged.”