Northwestern ready to switch to solar

WINSTED — Northwestern Regional High School officials are still waiting to get the green light to flick the switch for a new solar energy system after a strong winter wind storm late last month delayed bringing the system online.

The project, which is being managed by Vermont-based GrowSolar, involved the installation of 3,000 individual solar panels on the district building’s roof.

The panels harvest the power of the sun and transport the gathered energy through a series of conduits leading from the roof to a set of inverter boxes on the ground.

There, the energy is changed from DC to AC before it is pumped through a set of underground wires into the campus electrical system in the basement.

Once the system is fully online, the panels will produce an average of 450 kilowatts per hour of electricity. The energy produced by the panels is expected to account for about one-third of the district’s electricity needs.

School officials had hoped to have the system providing electricity directly to the campus grid by the end of last month.

However, according to Superintendent of Schools Clint Montgomery, the Dec. 29 wind storm damaged 22 solar panels when a strong gust in excess of 50 mph ripped through a group that had not yet been bolted into the brackets.

“So, they had to be replaced,� Montgomery said.

Since then all of the panels have been installed and fully secured.

Montgomery says the district now is waiting for a small team of GrowSolar engineers to come down and inspect the system before the Battistoni Drive campus can begin using the electricity it is producing.

“It is already generating power, but the company still has to give it its formal nod,� he said.

The system is now expected to be providing energy for the district within the next two weeks.

To help purchase the system, the administration applied for and received a state Clean Energy Fund grant of $1.7 million, about half
the cost of the project. The district will fund the remaining amount, and GrowSolar will continue to manage and maintain the system.

According to the district’s grant agreement with the state, the panels had to be operational by Dec. 31 or the money would have had to be returned.

But Montgomery said even with the slight delay the project still met all of the required deadlines.

“We’re very happy with the work that has been done,� he said.

The solar project is an important part of the district’s overall plan to reduce energy costs while also lowering its carbon footprint.

In addition to harnessing the power of the sun, a wind turbine has been proposed for the Region 7 campus by the Torrington-based company Optiwind. And Montgomery is hoping to receive a grant to help fund a geothermal energy system for the campus, as well.

Also, the high school is looking to enter into a partnership with Northwestern Connecticut Community College to develop a joint green work force educational program and build a green science lab on campus.

If all three renewable energy sources were to come online — solar, wind and geothermal — the district would be powered almost entirely by green science.