Cary Institute is going solar

MILLBROOK — Anyone heading west on Route 44 recently has probably seen some activity on the land across from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Having started four years ago, the solar power project is now advancing at a rapid pace and is expected to be completed this fall. YSG Solar is doing the installations and is currently waiting for the panels to arrive. Cary is committed to buying all the electricity generated by the solar field for the next 25 years.

At a time when things could have gotten sticky due to enormous interest and an influx of applications for solar energy permits in the town of Washington, things actually went well between the town and the Cary Institute. Cary’s application was submitted when many commercial solar companies were coming into municipalities with very ambitious projects — and residents were getting worried. 

The town, in the Cary Institute’s Director of Communications Lori Quillen’s words, “… quite intelligently put a pause on solar development to ensure they had a process that balanced environmental and town needs.” 

Quillen added this may well be because the Cary is looking to use the energy itself; it’s not selling or giving it away to others. 

Cary has nearly 2,000 acres of property; the solar field will take up 4 acres, actually a very small part of the campus.  However, the 700kw solar field being installed will offset 100% of the institute’s electricity.

The Cary has been a part of Millbrook for more than 36 years, bringing researchers, educators and many visitors to the area. As a site of ecological studies, it seems only natural that it would be at the forefront of solar power, and it has been invested in solar for many years prior to this project.

The Cary been monitoring solar radiation since 1988, providing an opportunity to understand how solar power plays a part in energy dynamics and the atmosphere. Since 2011, the Cary’s radiation data has consisted of Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR), shortwave and net radiation. It has recorded the data in hourly increments since 1988 and, from 2011, in three-minute increments; this is also true of UV monitoring, which has been recorded in increments of three minutes since 2011.

The Cary Institute’s electricity will be purchased from YSG at a price competitive with current electricity costs. According to the institute, over the life span of the solar field, approximately 19,188 tons of carbon dioxide will be eliminated from Cary’s footprint, the equivalent of planting 447,080 trees.

According to town code, the solar field may not be visible from the road, so after the construction is complete landscaping will keep the field hidden from view on the much-traveled Route 44.

The Millbrook School also has been using solar energy for the past several years, and other commercial and residential sites have shown an interest in using solar power to cut energy costs. 

The Cary is a tax-free entity and as such there is no added assessment on the solar field, but the institute has secured a bond to cover any contingencies.