On Earth Day, Westford's First Town Building Goes Solar

Town officials on Earth Day today announced a huge solar array is up and running at the .

The school is the first town building to use solar power.

The 176-panel system cost about $178,000. It's expected to save $200,000 in energy costs over an estimated 25-year lifespan, according to Town Manager Jodi Ross.

“The highly visible location will also serve as a constant reminder to residents of how Westford is trying to be green and do its part to reduce energy emissions," Ross said in a statement.

The project was funded through state and federal grants. No town money was used.

The array consists of 176 Evergreen solar panels and two Solectria inverters. It will generate about 40,000 kilowatt-hours annually, saving about $8,000 a year in energy costs, according to Ross.

The power will be used only by the school, except during summer vacation when there may be enough electricity to send into the surrounding grid.

Superintendent Bill Olsen said the array is important.

"It's not just about offsetting costs. It’s also about helping reduce our carbon footprint and providing an example of how to go green," Olsen said in a statement. "This will afford us the opportunity to educate students and the community about alternative energy options and conservation."

The town's Energy Committee did much of the heavy lifting for the project, securing grants and design plans.

But Committee Chair Steve Esposito said it was a team effort.

“We appreciate the help and support we received from the Board of Selectmen, school superintendent’s office, town management, and Stony Brook Middle School administration, especially Richie Crocker, director of school facilities, and Kathy Auth, director of school finance, in getting the project submitted, awarded and installed,” Esposito said in a statement.  “We look forward to helping our town reduce costs and protect the environment with future renewable energy generation and energy efficiency projects.”

The installation features a live monitoring system via this link: http://sb.westfordk12.us/pages/index.

By 8:45 a.m. this morning, the system had generated 18 kilowatt hours of energy.

The project was funded with a $28,000 Clean Energy Choice grant from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and a $150,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the federal stimulus program.