Norwich — The City Council on Monday approved a 20-year lease with Solar City Corp. to build a 3-megawatt commercial solar array in the former Rogers Road landfill and on adjacent city-owned land.

The lease, with two five-year extensions, calls for Solar City, in partnership with brownfields development specialist Brightfields Development LLC, to build two solar voltaic systems with 1.6 and 1.4 megawatts of electric generation on Rogers Road.

Solar City will pay the city $45,000 per year and will sell the electricity generated to the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, which in turn would sell the power to Norwich Public Utilities for fixed rates at or below the current rates paid by NPU customers.

During a public hearing prior to the vote, resident David Crabb questioned why the lease would be set at $45,000 per year with no provision for increases over the years.

After the meeting, NPU General Manager and Norwich acting City Manager John Bilda said all terms of the contract are fixed over the lease period, including lease payments and the price CMEEC would pay for the power. Any increases in the lease would have added to the power price, Bilda said.

Mike Singer, a representative from Brightfields, told the City Council that the firm hopes to obtain all state permits in time to start construction before the end of the year.

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