Westminster Center School Solar Supports The Whole Town
Southern Vermont Solar is busy installing solar arrays for non-profits in Windham County, Vermont!
A ballasted 50-kW AC solar array was installed on the gymnasium rooftop at Westminster Center ‘s elementary school in Westminster, Vermont. A 100kW ground-mounted array will also be built in the corner of the school’s property
Thank you to Green Energy Times for publishing this excellent overview of our project right here in our neighborhood at the Westminster Center School. We are THRILLED to be contributing to the sustainability of our community at the elementary school and look forward to working with the students on how they can participate in monitoring solar inputs and results. Math, budgeting, chemistry, physics, data analysis, and energy sustainability are all perfect learning opportunities in this solar project!
From the October 2024 Issue of Green Energy Times:
It seems interesting things are always happening at Southern Vermont Solar. Most recently, the company has been working on a two-stage 150-kilowatt (kW) AC solar installation for the Westminster Center School in Westminster, Vermont. This particular project is an especially interesting example, because we can discuss the project’s two stages separately. Electrical credits from both of the array stages are to be wholly the property of the school organization and will offset expenses that are normally paid for by the taxpayers of the town. The first stage of the project is the installation of a ballasted 50-kW AC rooftop array on the newly installed gymnasium roof. Initially the project was aiming to install all 150 kW of solar on the school’s different roof surfaces. After a thorough structural review, only the gym roof was permitted to handle the extra loads of the solar array.
The rooftop equipment includes 120 Longi 445 PV Modules for a total of 53.4 kilowatts of DC capacity, 1 SolarEdge Inverter to handle 50 kW of DC capacity, and 60 SolarEdge Optimizers. The system also uses IronRidge Racking and Components. It has a 25-year manufacturing warranty. The roof array is installed and is scheduled to go online in the next month. This brings us to the ground mounted stage. SVT Solar worked with the school to figure out the best location for installing the additional 100-kW AC for a ground mounted system after it became clear the roof could not hold all the solar.
The system will be built in the corner of the school’s property. The 100-kW AC ground mounted array will have 280 Q.PEAK DUO XL-G10/ BFG 485 PV modules, or equivalent, for a capacity of 135.8-kW, DC, two SolarEdge SE50KUS Inverters, 140 SolarEdge Optimizers, and Sunmodo racking and components. It will also have monitoring and metering equipment. The ground-mounted phase is scheduled to start construction in late October.
The School Board, the school administration’s Principal Elizabeth Harty, and Southern Vermont Solar’s team collaborated thoughtfully to provide a harmonious, aesthetic, functional, and safe design. Noise from the inverters will be limited to daytime-only fans providing cooling for the electronics that will be installed on the East school Gymnasium gable side wall above the first-floor level of the school building. In accordance with Vermont State code, a locked, orchard-style fence surrounding the ground accessible portion of the project will prevent any interaction by students or the public with any metal edges or the solar glass surfaces of the array or any potential electrical hazards.
Dr. Cheryl Charles, the Chair of the Westminster School Board, provided us with some information about how the solar installation was funded. An important part of the capital was available because the school district had been operating with a budget surplus. Another major portion came from the financial incentives offered by the federal government. In an email, Dr. Charles said, “The Westminster Town School District had budget surpluses in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. At the 2023 Westminster Town School District annual meeting held during Town Meeting, the voters approved a motion to ‘create a reserve fund for repairs or improvements to buildings including, although not limited to, enhanced security and energy efficiencies.’
The school board explored alternatives, issued a request for proposals, and ultimately chose Southern Vermont Solar to install a solar array that would cover more than 100% of the current electricity needs for the Westminster Town School District.” She also gave a very positive review of Southern Vermont Solar and its staff, adding that they were there to guide the process and answer questions, “helping us in turn to educate the public about the value of this project.”
