Burrillville school officials eye solar carport
BURRILLVILLE — School officials here are considering a proposal to install a 294-kilowatt solar carport in the Burrillville Middle School parking lot that could offset more than 90 percent of the school’s annual electricity usage.
A solar carport is a stand-alone structure that provides shelter for cars. Each carport is individually designed to suit its environment, but they are generally a lightweight structure that supports a roof covering of solar panels that generate electricity from the sun’s rays.
The district has been holding talks with Trane, a brand of Ingersoll Rand, since March after the School Department’s director of facilities, Bill Robinson, became aware of a similar project
by Trane for the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District. Robinson visited the school, talked to officials there and then contacted Trane to explore the possibility of doing something similar in Burrillville. d This past spring, the Dighton-Rehotboth school district completed a threeyear project to outfit all five of its schools dwith solar arrays, which is expected to save the district an estimated $5 million over 30 years.
At the Burrillville School Committee’s meeting last week, Leo McNeill, regional director for Trane Comprehensive Solutions, provided a presentation on the proposed solar carport at the Middle School on Broncos Highway. The carport would be installed in the school parking lot and and provide 294 kilowatts of electricity, which would generate 90 percent of the school’s power on site and save the district an estimated t $1.4 million in electricity costs over 30 years.
The school would enter into a energy savings contract with Trane, which would enable the district to use future energy savings to pay for the design and construction costs of the project, thus eliminating the need to dip into the capital budget,
“Trane guarantees resultant energy savings to pay for the project over time,” McNeill said. “If, for some reason, the savings don’t come about, we’ll write a shortfall check.”
In addition to reducing operating costs and generating 90 percent of the school’s power on site with solar, McNeill said the project will allow the district to demonstrate sound fiscal, environmental and social stewardship.
“It would substantially reduce the school’s environmental footprint; avoid future increases in the cost of purchased electricity; and create an ongoing educational opportunity for students,” McNeill said.
“Our next step, if you are interested,
would be to move forward and work with the appropriate stakeholders from the schools and town, and then go through a series of siting options until we develop a project that meets everybody’s needs and wants,” McNeill told the committee.
McNeill said if the School Department and town are interested in pursuing the carport proposal, a timetable could include signing a memorandum of understanding and developing the scope of the project in September; finalizing a design before the end of November; and executing a contract by the end of December.
Based on that timetable, the project would be completed and up and running by April of next year.
Because the district’s school buildings are owned by the town, the Town Council would have to weigh in and sign off on the proposal. At its meeting, the School Committee voted to refer the project idea to the council for its feedback.