Members of the Dublin Energy Committee and elected officials recently celebrated the completion of a roof solar array on the Dublin fire station.
The array will offset the energy consumed by the Dublin Fire Department at nearly no cost to the town, after a $43,843 municipal solar grant covered most of the cost of the system and installation process.
On Monday afternoon, Democratic State Sen. Donovan Fenton, who represents District 10, along with members of the Energy Committee, met to celebrate the finished installation and take a tour of the fire station.
“This is an amazing grant opportunity, especially for the town of Dublin, where we could lower their energy costs by installing solar on the roof of their Fire Department,” Fenton said.
Fenton congratulated the town for being able to do the work through grant funding. He said he hopes other municipalities have the same opportunity in the future.
“I think that there’s a lot of uncertainty right now, especially in the realm of grants. It makes me nervous that we might not see this type of grant in the future,” Fenton said. “I think we are seeing legislative leaders who are shying away from renewable energy, when instead, we should be stepping into it, and that’s something I’m always going to be pushing for.”
Susan Peters, chair of the Dublin Select Board and its representative on the Energy Committee, said this project has been a long time coming to fruition. The town first heard about the grant opportunity in 2023, and after town approval at Town Meeting, the grant was approved at the state level by then-Gov. Chris Sununu in November.
“It’s just been a matter of waiting for the timing to play out,” Peters said.
She said the town, in cooperation with consultants, picked the fire station over other town buildings due to its sun exposure, and also because it serves key functions as both the town’s fire department and emergency management building.
“The fact that we now have this solar helps us feel more secure about the future,” Peters said. “We’re really excited. It’s a big help to us, as a town.”
Dublin Energy Committee Chair James Finnegan agreed, calling the project a “huge team effort” that required multiple stakeholders to come together and persevere to make happen.
“I’m so happy to see it go up,” Finnegan said. “You can see it driving down Main Street. It’s nice way to have a visible energy project in the community. We’re very grateful to have gotten the funding for this project. In the great scheme of things, the expenditure wasn’t big bucks, but it’ll save us a great deal over the life of the project.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.