WMECo building solar plant in Spfld.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A second solar energy facility will be built in western Massachusetts.

Monday, Western Massachusetts Electric Company spokesperson Sandra Ahearn told 22News that WMECo will be building the facility at 282 Cottage Street in Springfield.

In October, a solar plant was completed in Pittsfield. It was the first large scale solar plant in western Massachusetts and the largest power plant of its kind in New England.

The solar energy facility project in Springfield, will bring $22 million dollars of construction and add several hundred thousand dollars of annual property tax revenue for Springfield.

The new solar energy facility will accommodate some 17-thousand solar panels and produce up to 4.2 megawatts of solar energy.

WMECo has about 65,000 customers.

When it's complete the Springfield facility will join WMECo's Silver Lake Solar facility as two of the largest in the region. “The Springfield facility continues to build on the experience we gained in developing our recently completed project in Pittsfield. Our approach enables us to deliver large-scale solar at a level of cost effectiveness that no one would have thought possible a few short years ago.” said Peter J. Clarke, WMECo president and chief operating officer.