Solar Project Completed At West Hartford School

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Verogy, a Hartford-based solar developer announced Wednesday the completion of a 527 kilowatt DC system on the roof of West Hartford’s King Philip Middle School.

It is the second Verogy project in town, the first being a 129 kilowatt DC system on the roof of West Hartford Town Hall which has been in operation since October 2019.

The King Phillip system, consisting of 1,368 modules, is expected to produce 592,279 kWh of clean energy in its first year, the equivalent to offsetting CO2 emissions from 47,121 gallons of gasoline.

As a Class I Renewable Energy Source this array is contributing to Governor Lamont’s September 2019 Executive Order No. 3: a 100 percent zero carbon target for the electricity sector by 2040.

Under a Power Purchase Agreement, the town will purchase the electricity generated by the system for the next 20 years at a fixed rate. The town is also participating in net metering, whereby it will receive credit against future bills for any excess energy produced on the roof of the school and fed back into the grid.

"We are excited to complete construction of our second project for the Town of West Hartford," said Bryan Fitzgerald, director of development for Verogy. "When municipalities save money on their utility costs, they can redirect those savings to important programs for the community.” West Hartford is expected to save over $250,000 over the life of the project.

"Recent increases in our utility costs make it even more important that we take control of our energy expenses," said Catherine Diviney, the energy specialist for West Hartford. "Partnering with Verogy again is helping West Hartford save money and support clean, renewable locally-generated energy; it’s a real win-win."

Justin Gusy, assistant principal at King Philip Middle School, added: “We are so excited to have solar at KPMS, both from an environmental and educational perspective. I hope that we can use the array as a teaching tool in some of our classes."