MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project

The MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project is a 7 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic project to be built on the MMWEC campus in Ludlow, Massachusetts. 

MMWEC site solar project in Ludlow, MA. 

MMWEC MLPs' Clean Energy Timeline

MMWEC and its members have been incorporating carbon-free power into their portfolios for decades, dating back to the 1980s. Click on timeline below for major accomplishments to date.

MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project Video

MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project Dedication Photos

MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project Facts

  • 7 MW nameplate capacity
  • Built on a 35-acre section of MMWEC’s 200+ acre Ludlow campus
  • EDF Renewables Solutions is project developer
  • Six MMWEC member MLPs participate in the project, located in Boylston, Ipswich, Mansfield, Marblehead, Peabody and Wakefield
  • Will generate more than 13,800 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, enough to power over 1,500 homes
  • Will displace nearly 13,220,400 lbs of CO2 emissions from Massachusetts power plants per year, based on current ISO New England average emissions*
  • Features panels with state of the art bifacial module technology, allowing them to produce energy from direct sunlight as well as light reflected onto the backside of the panels
  • Online in first quarter of 2023

Why the MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project?

The municipal light plant (MLP) participants of the MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project will share in the project’s benefits, which include expanding the renewable and non-carbon emitting generation sources in their utility’s power portfolios.  The project also is ideal for MLPs looking to add solar to their generation mix, but may not have adequate space within their own service territories to build a solar array. 

MMWEC and its member MLPs have been proactive for many years in incorporating carbon-free resources, and this project continues that trajectory.  It is also in alignment with state and regional carbon emissions reduction goals, such as the state’s Decarbonization Roadmap initiative to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.  

Additional MMWEC/Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project Videos

 

Time lapse video of project under construction. 

Drone video of project under construction. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*958 lbs/MWh (annual average generator emission rates in MA in lb/MWh) x 13,800 MWh= 13,220,400 lbs

ABOUT MMWEC

MMWEC is a non-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, created by an Act of the General Assembly in 1975 and authorized to issue debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state’s consumer-owned municipal utilities. It has 20 municipal utility members and 28 project participants. As one of 83 public power joint action agencies in the United States, MMWEC uses the strengths of working together, greater efficiency and economies of scale to help its members provide superior service at a low cost.