Solar energy on schools and farms

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Thanks to funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and U.S. Department of Energy, CET coordinated installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels totaling 50 kilowatts on five educational institutions (three colleges, a technical high school and an elementary school) and two farms between 2004 and 2006. Seven systems were installed through the Solar-to-Market Cluster program, totaling 52.63 kW-dc and 47.42kW-ac.

Conte Community School, Pittsfield
System capacity: 9.0 kW-dc; 8.1 kW-ac
Equipment: RWE Schott - 30 ASE-300 panels; Solectria PVI 2500 inverter

Why Schools and Farms?

By installing PV systems at high profile educational institutions our goal was to increase public awareness and provide students with an opportunity to learn first-hand about an emerging clean, renewable technology. We targeted farms because sustainable agriculture is a high priority in the Berkshires and several farms were interested in using the sun to produce electricity and to grow their crops.

What did we accomplish?

We engaged local and regional contractors to install systems using durable array construction in one of Massachusetts’ toughest micro-climates: Installers and subcontractors/electricians were all from Massachusetts. Installers worked closely with local code officials to comply with a variety of code issues ranging from electrical to structural. One of the concerns highlighted in the Berkshires was assurance that buildings would tolerate the additional weight of panels on roofs in a region where the weight of winter snow and ice is a factor. In two cases (Conte Community School and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) a structural analysis performed by a professional engineer was required.

Solar Celebration at Howden Farm, April 2006 - From left to right: Nancy Nylen, CET; US Congressman John Olver; Bruce Howden, Howden Farm; David Prouty, Howden Farm; Ruth Dinerman, CET; Chris Derby Kilfoyle, BPVS; John Howell, UMass Extension; Cynthia Grippaldi, CET; and Larry McCormick, MA Department of Agricultural Resources.

We developed and tested different models of financing to determine which models are most sustainable: Berkshire solar PV cluster participants used two financing models. The first was a conventional model used by Williams College and Howden Farm who own their systems and are the recipients of all installation and production incentive payments. They use electricity produced by their PV array on site, and purchase the balance of their electricity from their local utility company. Williams College signed a contract in 2005 to sell their RECs to Conservation Services Group. Howden Farm has not yet contracted to sell their RECs but will likely sign an agreement with Massachusetts Consumers Alliance.

We supported Massachusetts solar industries: All solar modules were manufactured in Massachusetts and in four instances the inverters were also manufactured in Massachusetts. Details are listed below.

Milne Library at Williams College.

We conducted public education to increase awareness about PV technology among the general public, educators, and key decision makers in Berkshire County: CET conducted numerous presentations and workshops about solar energy for the general public, businesses and students ranging from elementary school to college level.

We increased the knowledge and experience of local code officials as relates to PV installation: Systems were installed in several communities, including Great Barrington, Monterey, North Adams, Pittsfield, Sheffield and Williamstown. In all cases, permits were filed with local building and electrical inspectors.

We made information about system performance available on the internet: System performance for six of the seven sites can be monitored here , and click on click on Explore Systems.

For information about the Williams College system and other energy systems, click here.