A year after West Hartford installed solar panels on the roof of town hall, it has completed a larger project atop the King Philip Middle School that will produce about four times more power.
Verogy, a Hartford-based solar energy company, this month finished installing an array of rooftop panels that will produce roughly enough energy to power the equivalent of 43 typical houses.
West Hartford expects to save more than $250,000 on its power bills over the 20-year life of the project; there is also the option of two five-year extensions.
Solar power projects on municipal roofs isn’t a new idea, but it’s been gaining popularity in Connecticut recently. Darien and New Canaan did those installations on their town halls last year, and communities in California were putting them up more than a decade ago. West Haven recently announced it will add solar panels when reconstructing its high school, with estimated savings of $1 million over the next 25 years.
The feasibility varies widely by the technology of the panels, the condition of the building and the credits or other financing incentives authorized by the state. Nine years ago, for instance, the state subsidized the entire cost for Vernon to put panels atop several town buildings, but towns now must arrange more complex financing arrangements.
West Hartford worked with Verogy on its town hall roof project last year. It started operations in the fall of 2019, and officials say it’s producing the energy that would normally be needed to power 16 single-family houses.
“Recent increases in our utility costs make it even more important that we take control of our energy expenses,” said Catherine Diviney, energy specialist for the town. “Partnering with Verogy again is helping West Hartford save money and support clean, renewable locally generated energy.”
In addition to cost savings, the solar panels reduce carbon emissions. The town and Verogy estimate that the King Philip array will be the equivalent of cutting CO2 emissions from 47,000 gallons of gasoline a year.
Will Herchel, founder and chief executive officer of Verogy, said communities most frequently look to the roofs of schools, town hall, police stations, firehouses and water treatment plants as sites for solar projects.
“Rooftops are obviously out of sight and out of mind,” Herchel said, adding that capped landfills are another popular location.
Some buildings prove to be unworkable. Two years ago, Norwalk was planning panels for the roof of its roughly 90-year-old city hall, but engineers determined the building wasn’t designed to handle that weight.
