Camp W Gets a Solar Array

The following is an excerpt from an article in Green Energy Times about our installation with Camp W in Brattleboro. The solar credits gained during the off-seasons help fund scholarships for campers — an innovative idea we were thrilled to support!

“When we started working on an article about Camp W, it was going to be about the solar array that covers nearly the entire roof of the dining hall. It is an impressive system, installed by Southern Vermont Solar, providing the electricity used by the camp and collecting credits when the camp is not open. Talking about that system with Sean Ashcraft, the camp’s director, made us realize there was a lot more to Camp W that would be of interest to our readers than just a solar array.

The camp’s approach to life and the environment dictated renewable electricity, but that approach extends to touch just about everything that goes on at the camp, and that includes everything that touches on the lives of the campers while they are there. Camp W is in the hills to the west of Brattleboro, Vermont. The goal of the camp is to connect each child with nature and natural cycles as fully as possible. Included in that approach is a recognition that we human beings are part of nature, and so our health and well-being are given high value.

Camp W has up to about 120 kids participating, of whom up to 90 live at the camp for their stay there. Potential campers in need of financial help financially can apply for scholarships. But the camp also works for general benefit of all in other ways. As we mentioned above, the solar array on the roof of the dining hall is big enough to supply all the electricity the camp uses while it is in session. When it is not in session, the array continues to supply electricity, which is banked by Green Mountain Power. Families in need can apply for help, using those credits to lower their costs.”

See the full article on page 8 of the March 2021 issue of Green Energy Times