Proctor Academy has continued its commitment to decrease reliance on fossil fuels through utilization of renewable energy solutions by signing a contract with IGS Energy Solutions and Revision Energy to install three new solar projects by next fall. These projects will bring Proctor’s solar capacity to 340 kW, when the solar panels on the Wilkins Meeting House that were installed in 2012 are included.

New installations at the Proctor Ski Area, on the Teddy Maloney Hockey Rink (107.4 kW), and a three-rooftop array on the childcare facility, the music building, and the boathouse will continue to reduce operating costs and help offset energy used on campus throughout the year. The first of the rooftop projects will occur in May, with the Proctor Ski Area ground installation happening later in the summer.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of these solar projects is that they were first initiated by student work in classes to measure rooftop surface area and solar capacity in 2011. The addition of 263.4 kW of solar capacity this year augments Proctor’s existing renewable energy solutions on campus: a central biomass heating plant, geothermal-heated dormitory, and four wood-heated dormitories.