Sustainable Schools in the Northeast

The Alan Shepard Boat House solar array is one of six solar arrays at Proctor Academy. Photo courtesy of Revision Energy

By Green Energy Times Staff

Several schools in the Northeast have been in the news. They included some previously covered in Green Energy Times, and some new projects. This is just a sampling.

1. Proctor Academy, a co-educational boarding and day school in Andover, New Hampshire has six solar arrays on the campus making up one of the largest solar projects of its kind. The 334-kilowatt (kW) project is valued at $1.1 million. The most recent installation was commissioned just in time for the winter sports season at the school’s privately operated ski area. ReVision Energy installed all of the school’s projects. There was no upfront cost to the school, and the electricity is being sold through power purchase agreements (PPAs).

After a 92-million-mile journey this guest visited The Cornerstone School in NH, where the new solar project is expected to generate all of the Montessori school’s electricity. Photo courtesy of Revision Energy.

2. The Cornerstone School, a Montessori School in Stratham, New Hampshire, makes sustainability is part of the curriculum. Students learn about the ways their behavior affects the world around them, from small things like recycling and energy use to big things, like how their school has harnessed the sun for most of its energy needs. ReVision Energy, which installed a solar system for the school, has produced a video of the Head of School, Lee Ann Robertson talking about this school’s journey to a solar investment. It can be seen at bit.ly/cornerstone-video.

3. In Rochester, New Hampshire, East Rochester Elementary School has a new 86.8-kW rooftop solar array installed by ReVision Energy. SunRaise Investments financed the $250,000 project at no upfront cost to the school district. The solar system will be owned and operated by local investors through a PPA. The system was turned on in September, and is expected to generate over 81,000 kWh each year, providing 44% of the school’s electricity.

4. Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire, was honored last November by the EPA for its success keeping food waste out of landfills. Keene State was one of 24 organizations in New England issued “Food Recovery Challenge Regional Achievement Certificates” by the EPA. Keene State won the award for the best educational and outreach campaign.

5. Camden Hills High School, in Rockport, Maine, has installed a new solar system under a PPA with ReVision Energy. This is just part of an extensive energy and efficiency makeover that the school administration hopes will reduce electric energy costs by about 85% by the time it is done. Many people have contributed to the program’s success, including students, staff, and administrators. After seven years on the PPA, the town may purchase the system, to see over $50,000 per year in electricity savings.

6. In the Town of Mamaroneck, New York, Hommocks Middle School has commissioned a Rocket Composter, distributed by NATH Energy Systems of Tarrytown, NY. A grant from the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation provided for installation. Food waste will be composted instead of being trucked to a trash-burning facility, eliminating costs and environmental concerns.

Also, Sierra magazine rated ten top schools for energy. They included three in the Northeast: Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vermont; Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; and the University Of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.

GET would also like to mention a number of colleges and universities in the Northeast for special interest relative to sustainability. They include Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH; the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT; College of St. Josephs, Rutland, VT; Castleton University, Castleton, VT; University of New Hampshire, Durham, Concord, and Manchester, NH; Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center, VT; Hampshire College in Amherst, MA; Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA; Antioch University New England, Keene NH; and Franklin Pierce University, Ringe, NH.