The annual meeting of the Seekonk Land Conservation Trust was held at the Seekonk Library on April 3, 2018 and featured a presentation titled "Clean Energy For All: A Solar Solution" by Andrew Breiter-Wu. Mr. Breiter-Wu is President of Breiter Planet Properties and a current SLCT Board Member. He gave a power point presentation with a solid explanation of the merits of solar energy and the numerous options residents and businesses can leverage. He discussed how solar energy generation works, how it gets fed into our local electric grids, and also addressed different mounting types that people can utilize when going solar. The second portion of his presentation primarily focused on the numerous and unique solar solutions that communities can leverage. Some of the options were solar ownership, power purchase agreements, community solar, and exterior lease options. 

In response to local communities throughout New England expressing concerns about solar development projects in non industrial zoned areas, Breiter-Wu stated that "It's imperative that communities incorporate solar farms into their master plans while still preserving open space for community enjoyment”. Throughout his presentation he maintained this focus as a personal priority that he carries with him when working with communities on solar projects through his firm.

For the remainder of the annual meeting Tom Webb, Seekonk Land Trust President, outlined the 2017 accomplishments of the SLCT. With 1383 acres of conservation land in town, of which the Land Trust has helped preserve 784 acres or 57%, Seekonk now has about 12% of the town land preserved by the Water Board, the Conservation Commission, Caratunk, Agricultural Restrictions, private land, and the Land Trust. In 2017 the SLCT celebrated their 50th Anniversary and acquired 22 acres along the Runnins River, a donation from RI Boy Scouts, and worked on completing Conservation Restrictions on 70 acres of Conservation Commission and private land in town. They also began an approval process for 12 acres of farmland to gain an agricultural restriction which will be voted on at the upcoming spring Town meeting. The Land Trust has worked with the Open Space and Recreation Committee to complete a townwide plan that will qualify Seekonk for applying for new types of state funds for open space and recreation.

If you would like to learn more information, you can contact him at andrew@breiterplanet.com or call his office at (617) 334-5785.