Perfectly paired with our energy-efficient building, our school runs on clean renewable energy that we produce on our own rooftop.
Since March of 2019 we have stepped up our sustainable practices by offsetting a portion of our electrical usage with solar panels. We worked with Brentwood, NH-based ReVision Energy to install a 56.9 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system.
When the sun is shining, the 175 solar panels on the roof of our school produce electricity that is either used in real-time by the school, or fed back to the grid where it benefits our community (and earns us a credit). Each year, the system will generate roughly 69,412 kilowatt-hours (kWhs) of electricity, offsetting the equivalent of over 120,000 miles driven in a gas-powered car.
The project was financed through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which means that the school paid no upfront fee to install the solar panels. Instead, an investor pays for the upfront cost through a fund managed by ReVision while the school pays for the power generated from the solar panels each month, rather than paying for power from the grid. After a period of time, the school can opt to buy the system from the investor (at a significantly reduced price) and own all the solar power generated outright!