Following the lead of Edgartown and Tisbury, West Tisbury has taken the first steps toward developing a municipal solar project. On Wednesday selectmen signed a letter of intent with the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative to request proposals for solar projects at the town landfill.

“All this allows us to do is entertain the possibility of putting solar panels at the dump,” said town administrator Jennifer Rand.

If West Tisbury follows through on the solar project it will join a consortium of towns on the mainland and on the Island recruited by the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative to place photovoltaic panels on town property. The cooperative has 19 member communities, including Edgartown, Tisbury and Dukes County, and provides competitively-priced renewable energy to its members by taking advantage of state and federal subsidies and tax breaks for alternative energy. Edgartown and Tisbury, which last month signed an agreement with CVEC to develop nearly six megawatts of solar power on town property, are expected to save a collective $9.4 million in electricity costs over the next 20 years. Sander Shapiro, chairman of the West Tisbury energy committee, said his town would be required to build a minimum of a 250-kilowatt project.

“The reasons for doing this is if we sign this we’re not signing away anything and if the companies that bid on this can provide us town power at a lower rate than our current town power it will be worth our doing it,” he said. “If they can not, or they put up other obstacles that we see, we are under no obligation to go further than this letter of intent.”

Mr. Shapiro said there would be no financial obligation to the town up front and there would be a six-month opt-out period. The town would be required to provide 10 per cent of the power it generates to the CVEC for its distribution and profit. The town would be able to sell the balance of the power it does not use for its own profit. Any solar project at the landfill would require approval by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the town board of health.