Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo) has recently begun a multi-phase procurement process for construction of its large-scale solar energy facilities, which are the first of its kind in New England. Up to six megawatts (MW) of solar facilities will be built — enough to power 6,000 homes.

The company plans to install up to 3 MW of photovoltaic (PV) facilities during 2010 and will begin its solicitation of potential sites in the coming weeks.

WMECo issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) to over 100 prospective vendors who may be participating in the initial phase of the program. After that phase is over, WMECo will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the fourth quarter for turnkey projects and award contracts.

The idea is to use large, underutilized sites, capable of hosting PV systems approximately 1 MW or larger. For the record, such as system (1 MW) requires approximately four acres (ground mounted) or 100,000 square feet (roof mounted) of unobstructed space.

The Massachusetts Green Communities Act allows electric utilities to own up to 50 MW of solar facilities, and WMECo received its approval for 6 MW from the DPU in August.