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Politics & Government

Mansfield Electric Ready for Solar, Saying Goodbye to Chocolate Friday

Mansfield dealing with the loss of business from the chocolate factory and getting ready for solar power.

Mansfield has a draft contract, allowing energy saving customers to sell power back to the town in the event that their solar or wind array generates more electricity than they can use.

Selectmen voted 5-0 to adopt the electric department's proposal for a net metering tariff on Wednesday, following existing state guidelines.

The tariff is based on calculations of power output the town will assemble for each individual customer in the future - right now there is only one, an industrial property at 241 Francis Avenue owned by VAM Realty Trust that will be equipped with solar generators.

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The regulations apply to three classes of customers, depending on the output of the solar or wind arrangement they might have.

Class 1 residential customers would have a design capacity of 20 kilowatts or less, while larger class 2 customers would be able to generate more than 20 kilowatts but no more than one megawatt.

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Class 3 customers would be able to generate more than one megawatt, but no more than two.

"The net metering credit is what we pay customers for export into our system for the excess power over what they use," said town electric department director Gary Babin. "The customer purchases energy from us the same way they always have - they just purchase somewhat less."

Babin and the light commission, who are the selectmen in Mansfield, have reported interest in alternative energy sources from residential customers, and the electric department has been reviewing proposals by a number of companies to erect solar arrays on the now vacant land atop the old landfill.

Although the hearing for the tariff was advertised, no comments were received from the community, and no potential customers were in the audience.

In other news, Babin reported sales of power to Mansfield customers has taken a big hit with the permanent closure of the century-old chocolate factory in the north end.

The factory, a staple of town life as far back as anyone can remember, was built by Boston chocolate mogul Walter Lowney, one of the town's major employers for many years.

Lowney was also a major philanthropist and landholder, and his legacy apparently still has an impact on the town, many years after his death. Owners of ADM Cocoa, the last of several candy producers to occupy the turn of the century brick factory, announced in May of last year they were moving the whole production line to a new facility in Hazelton PA.

After a year delay, the lights are now out, and the familiar brownie smell is gone from the air.

Babin said the company was a major electric customer, and added the chocolate making process used about two-percent of the total electricity provided by the department.

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