BEVERLY — The solar field that has been shining down on Beverly High School for nearly three decades could soon get a multimillion-dollar upgrade.

Mayor Bill Scanlon announced this week that the city will seek a private company willing to invest "several million dollars" to improve and upgrade the field's solar panels and to quadruple the amount of electricity they generate.

Combined with the solar panels that are planned for the roof of the new high school, the improved solar field would supply about 15 percent of the four-story high school's energy needs, Scanlon said.

"It'll be a healthy bite," he said.

The project would mark a significant evolution for the solar field, which has stood on the hill overlooking Beverly High School since 1981 and is the only one of its kind remaining in the country, according to the volunteer group that oversees it.

The array of panels was built by the federal government during President Jimmy Carter's administration as one of eight demonstration projects in the United States designed to promote the use of solar power during the energy crisis.

The other seven projects closed as the energy crisis waned, but the city and volunteers kept the Beverly field operating. The 3.2-acre site, which also includes a wind turbine, is now known as Dr. John Coleman Greenergy Park, after the late Beverly resident and MIT research physicist who helped start the park and keep it running.

The site is owned by the city and operated by Solar Now Inc., a nonprofit group with a six-member board of directors. The panels and wind turbine produced $13,000 worth of electricity for the high school last year, according to Solar Now chairman Fred Hopps.

Scanlon said now is the time to improve the site because the federal and state governments are offering incentives to private companies to produce alternative energy. The city cannot take advantage of those incentives because it does not pay taxes, which is why the city will lease the site to a private company, he said.

The company would invest "several million dollars" to upgrade and expand the field, then sell the power to the city at "attractive rates," Scanlon said.

The improved solar field would generate 350 to 400 kilowatts of power, compared to its current output of 100 kilowatts, he said.

A money saver

"We have to really demand performance from it so as to maximize its value," Scanlon said. "Things are really tough (with the budget), so if we can knock another 5 percent off the school's electrical bills, it's important to do that."

Hopps said he is worried that the plan would jeopardize the historic and educational benefits of the solar field. He said a private company would not allow school field trips and public events at the site, such as next month's Renewable Energy Fair.

Hopps called the solar field "a historic, technological monument that deserves preservation."

"I'm trying to keep it open to the community and honor the system that was in place and funded 30 years ago," he said. "We have the only remaining site that honors the start of the clean energy revolution here in Beverly. I think it's worth fighting for."

Scanlon said the public would still have access to the site under the new arrangement.

"Certainly, we'll be interested in public access and the history of the field," he said. "I don't think there's any problems there."

Scanlon said the public will have a chance to comment on the project before it goes forward.

The mayor also announced this week that the city will install solar panels on the new high school's roof by using more than $850,000 in grant money. The city will combine four grants — $300,000 each from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and Commonwealth Solar, $169,600 in federal stimulus money, and $95,000 from a Clean Energy Choice grant.

By combining the four grants, Scanlon said the solar panels will be installed with "no net investment" from the city.

Scanlon said the city is taking other steps to reduce energy costs, including an audit of energy use in all municipal buildings.

"As we move to the future, we seek to generate electricity from alternative sources whenever feasible and to reduce the consumption of electricity whenever practical," Scanlon said in a press release.

Construction of the high school is underway. The new, four-story academic building and the renovated field house, auditorium and cafeteria should be ready for occupancy at the end of October 2010, Scanlon said.

Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by e-mail at pleighton@salemnews.com.