Preston ― Disappointed with the minimal output of decade-old solar panels on Town Hall and the Preston Public Library, town and school officials hope to find a site for a solar array that could cover the entire power generation needs of all town properties.

They have been working with CT Green Bank on a solar marketplace assistance program, or Solar MAP, which seeks to identify a site appropriate for a solar project. Based on the town’s 867 kilowatts of power usage for all town and school facilities, Preston needs a 3-acre, town-owned property to generate enough electricity to meet that need, First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier said.

If a Preston location cannot be found, the town and CT Green Bank could seek a partnership with another town to share the power output of a solar project in that town.

Allyn-Gauthier said the experts started their review with nine town properties: Town Hall, library, Preston Veterans’ Memorial School, Preston Plains Middle School, the Public Works Department garage, transfer station, the Poquetanuck and Preston City fire houses, and the vacant former school property on Schoolhouse Road.

Six sites passed the initial review, and only three could provide the desired three acres: the middle school, Schoolhouse Road and the transfer station at 108 Ross Road.

Other factors now will come into play, Allyn-Gauthier said, including potential other town property needs and town officials’ desire to avoid extensive tree-cutting to make way for solar panels. The town might want to reserve the Schoolhouse Road property for other possible uses, she said.

“I think behind the transfer station would be the best location,” Allyn-Gauthier said. “I’m fairly confident we would never use that for anything else. PPMS and Schoolhouse Road would be prime locations for possible other things. So, I think that would be the best, or a partnership with another town.”

The Town Hall and library sites were deemed unproductive for solar from the start. In 2011, Preston was one of 33 towns to accept an offer by DCS Energy of Glastonbury to install solar panels at no cost to the town, with the town owning the infrastructure after five years. Former First Selectman Robert Congdon said the panels functioned and did save the town money on electricity at first, but the trees that surround Town Hall and the library on adjacent properties limited production.

Allyn-Gauthier said the aging panels now have a negligible effect on the town’s electric bills.

Emily Basham, associate director of financing programs at CT Green Bank, has been working with Preston to identify sites. Preston reached out to Green Bank to ask about the no-cost technical assistance portion, and if Preston wants to go forward, CT Green Bank could provide project management, development, financing and assist with the bid process, Basham said.

“They’ve really been gathering a lot of information and they’re looking to have a very thoughtful consideration for a community-wide plan and keep all the options open,” Basham said.

CT Green Bank has worked with Manchester on a seven-site solar project, six of the sites being schools, and also is working with Portland and Thompson. It has worked with dozens of other municipalities on just the financing portion of projects.

She said the next step in Preston’s schedule once a site is identified would be to seek what is called an incentive opportunity, a non-residential renewable solutions program in which the town would seek a contract with utilities to purchase power generated by the town’s proposed solar project. Those contract opportunities come twice a year, the next one in February.

c.bessette@theday.com