News and Announcements

« Back to News and Announcements

Tech School May Install Solar Farm

Posted on July 09, 2010

Tech school may install solar farm
By: CHRISTINA KRISTOFIC
Bucks County Courier Times

Administrators at the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology know that the road to the future is green.

And they want to make sure the school and its students are ready to take it.

School administrators presented a plan Wednesday night to install a 70,000-square-foot solar farm on school property - to help reduce the school's energy costs and provide a hands-on learning tool for the students.

"This is one of the new emerging technologies," said administrative director Kathryn Strouse.

Facilities manager Richard Hansen added: "We're looking to train (the students) and keep the green energy business flourishing."

Strouse said MBIT has been trying for three years to install solar panels or some other type of alternative energy source on site, but has never been able to secure the funding.

Now the school is working with Tangent Energy Solutions, a company based in Kennett Square, to get its solar farm installed. MBIT administrators learned about the company through Gus Perea, an advisory board member who works with a company that works with Tangent. Perea thought the arrangement Tangent had to offer would be perfect for the Warwick vocational school.

Tangent would lease or acquire an easement from MBIT for the portion of the property where it would develop the solar farm. It would then install, own and maintain the solar panels at no cost to MBIT. Tangent would get private investors and apply for grants to help pay for the project.
Advertisement

The panels, which would be about 6 feet tall, would be set up in a passive field to the north of the school.

The panels are expected to generate about 38 percent of the energy MBIT uses in a year, according to Dave Turner, Tangent's chief operating officer.

Tangent would sell the energy the panels generate to MBIT at a rate less than what the school currently pays for electricity. MBIT currently pays about 12 cents per kilowatt hour. If Tangent gets enough grant money, Turner said, it could sell the power back to MBIT for as little as 8 cents per kilowatt hour.

Tangent would provide the school with equipment to track the energy generation, and advice on how to control the building's power to limit electricity usage during peak hours.

Tangent would also provide the school with a training module - some solar panels and related equipment - so students can practice assembling, disassembling and maintaining the panels in their classes.

If Tangent ever decides to sell the solar farm, MBIT would have the right of first refusal.

Tangent would gain revenue through selling electricity to MBIT and selling the site's energy credits.

Before the project can move forward, Tangent must submit plans to Warwick and get building permits.

Turner said the solar farm could be built by the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

July 08, 2010 02:12 AM

Filed under Misc