‘Energy park’ to serve new WMHS and NEMT school

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — With both the planned new Wakefield Memorial High School and the new Northeast Metro Tech regional high school expected to be all electric, the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department will install a “energy park” with a “micro-grid” between the two schools on Hemlock Road.

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department General Manager Pete Dion met with the Town Council recently to discuss the plan.

The energy park/microgrid will be interconnected to WMGLD’s electric system, the new Northeast Metro Tech (NEMT) and the planned Wakefield High School, Dion explained. He noted that both schools will have all-electric heating and cooling, roof-mounted solar arrays of 300kW each and 10 electric vehicle charging locations.

The planned energy park and microgrid would be built on a one-acre wooded site just before the entrance to the Northeast Metro Tech on Hemlock Road. The Energy Park site will include a 15MWh battery storage unit that will be charged via the solar arrays and a single natural gas generator. This eliminates the need for two diesel generators (one of each school), saving each school $1.2 million, Dion said.

The battery (with help from the generator and solar arrays) will serve as the emergency power source for both schools and can serve as the primary power source during a rare extended outage, Dion explained.

The energy park/microgrid will also provide energy management and environmental education opportunities for Northeast Metro Tech and Wakefield Memorial High School students. The electric bills for each school will also be greatly reduced through partnership with WMGLD for the solar arrays, Dion added.

Beyond the schools, the energy park will provide “peak shaving” capabilities, helping to maintain low electric rates for the entire town, Dion said. It will also promote electrification, reduce carbon emissions and move towards the state’s net-zero 2050 goal.

Dion explained that WMGLD would manage, own and operate the solar on both schools. While some new school buildings are built “solar ready” but may never have solar installed, these two schools will be built with solar installed from the start, he added, guaranteeing savings. Any excess solar energy not used by the schools will charge the emergency battery at the energy park. WMGLD will also provide each school with electric vehicle chargers from the beginning instead of simply being “EV Ready.”

Dion said that WMGLD will begin the permitting process for the Energy Park in the coming months and the system will be up and operational when the new Northeast Metro Tech opens in 2025.

Town Councilor Julie Smith-Galvin questioned the need for a gas generator and wanted to know how often it would run.

Dion said that the generator would run for about 12 hours each month or about 144 hours a year. He explained that the single gas generator will enable both schools to go all electric, thereby reducing overall natural gas usage.

He noted that 128 trees would be removed to create the Energy Park, but all of those trees will be replaced.