School brings solar farm to campus

By: centraljersey.com
The Lawrenceville School has announced it has signed a six-megawatt solar energy power purchase agreement with TurtleEnergy LLC for a solar power farm on school’s campus.
The project plans and specifications have been submitted to local, county, and state authorities for the necessary regulatory approvals. Provided all permits have been obtained, construction is expected to begin in December 2010, and the solar farm will be operational in the second quarter of 2011.
This use of clean energy helps The Lawrenceville School fulfill its Green Campus Initiative, a holistic approach to campus sustainability, and will benefit the broader communityoutside of the school, according to a press release.
The solar farm will utilize single axis "solar trackers" which follow the sun’s path, boosting electrical output. The array, along with collaborative educational programs, offers a "live laboratory" for Lawrenceville’s students to work with state-of-the-art solar design. Fully operational, the solar array will produce 8,500 megawatt-hours annually of clean electricity or more than 90 percent of the School’s needs, offset 5,300 tons of CO2, and provide a setting to teach sustainable energy and the use of materials, land, and water in ways that promote ecological literacy and sustainability.
The natural slope of the 30-acre site, currently part of a 268-acre farm that is a part of Lawrenceville’s 700-acre campus, will make the solar farm invisible from Route 206 and only partially visible from Lewisville Road.
The school is researching ways that may enable continued farming, of either crops or livestock, under and around the solar trackers. "The farm not only materially reduces our carbon footprint, but it also provides a wonderful setting for our students to learn more about alternative energy and sustainability," said Lawrenceville Head Master Liz Duffy. "We’re very excited too to be able to contribute to Lawrence Township’s efforts to become a model green community."
Frank Millard, president of TurtleEnergy said, "The Lawrenceville solar farm is exciting due its advanced technological design, but more particularly because of its educational potential. As an alumnus (Class of 1949), I am excited about our direct involvement with creating this renewable energy laboratory and working with some of the nation’s brightest students."
John Millard, founder of TurtleEnergy (and a member of the Lawrenceville School Class of 1979) added, "This project is a milestone for us, as developers of a wide range of solar energy plants over the past seven years, and in our 87th year of commitment to New Jersey and New England."
Ralph Copelman, director of Sustainable Lawrence, a nonprofit organization that encourages the people and institutions of Lawrence Township to cooperatively adopt fundamental principles of sustainability and to develop policies and practices that fulfill those principles, was pleased that the Lawrenceville School will be hosting " … such an impressive clean energy source in Lawrence Township.
"The environmental health of Lawrence Township is very important to both Sustainable Lawrence and The Lawrenceville School," he said. "It is no surprise that the school has identified a way to reduce its carbon footprint, which ultimately is a boon to the entire township’ssustainability efforts. The township and all of its residents will reap the rewards from this solar farm for many years to come."