Somerset, MA – The Somerset Berkley Regional School District has partnered with Solect Energy to install a 348 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system on the roof of its new regional high school.
Somerset Berkley Regional School
The original building plans for the high school included solar panels, and the new school was built with the necessary structural capacity and electrical service to support a large array on the roof. However, the district could not move forward during construction with purchasing and installing its own solar panels due to fiscal constraints.
Committed to pursuing solar, the district continued to explore alternative financing options and ultimately selected PowerOption’s solar program. Under the program, Solect installs, owns, and operates the solar arrays on the school’s roof and sells the power generated at a fixed rate for a period of 20 years under a power purchase agreement (PPA) negotiated by PowerOptions.
“The solar system was installed at no cost to the taxpayers of Somerset and Berkley, but will provide electric utility savings averaging $19,000 per year under the power purchase agreement between the district and Solect,” said Richard Peirce, chairman of the Somerset Berkley School Committee.
The solar array is expected to cover up to 20% of the school’s annual electricity use and to save the school approximately $19,000 annually on its energy expenses.
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Somerset Berkley Regional High School has approximately 990 students with the majority of students from the member towns of Somerset and Berkley. In 2010, the District entered into an agreement with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to build an $80 million dollar new regional high school. The school opened in September 2014.
“The District is continually looking for ways to reduce operating costs in order to shift more resources to students,” said Lindsey Albernaz, Director of Business and Finance for Somerset Berkley School District. “Utility costs are an expense that is constantly fluctuating. Working with Solect, we were able to reduce operating costs without having to pay the upfront costs of installation.”
“Utilizing PowerOptions, which undertook an extensive competitive solicitation, meant that the district did not need to undertake our own costly and time consuming procurement,” added Albernaz. In 2015, PowerOptions chose Solect Energy based in Hopkinton, MA as the supplier for its Small Systems Solar Program.
“The aggregate savings over the life of the agreement are estimated to be $340,000. In addition, our students will learn and actually experience how we as a high school community are doing our part to protect the environment. The district is now purchasing about 60 percent of its electricity through solar production.”
