Largest solar power plant in Mass. about to start [View All]

[SecularMotion]

Source: Associated Press

On land poisoned by toxins from a long-gone manufacturing era, more than 6,500 solar panels face the south sky, capturing the sunlight of a late autumn day in the Berkshire Mountains.

They're ready to deliver power to New England.

The Western Massachusetts Electric Co. site in Pittsfield, New England's largest solar project, promises to produce enough electricity for about 300 homes starting later this month. That's a tiny fraction of what the region needs to run computers, lights, TVs and everything else utility customers take for granted.

But the $9.4 million solar plant and an even larger project planned for Springfield next year are expected to spur job growth in the solar industry and eventually make the cost of solar power competitive with the oil-burning furnaces that are common in New England.

Read more: http://poststar.com/news/state-and-regional/article_4ffa130d-6f09-5415-bac6-ca728cfec1ea.html