The En-Trust group and Inovateus Solar announced the completion of the Holgate Local Schools’ solar array. The project will provide clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades to the Holgate Local School system through a guaranteed energy savings contract.
This project is the result of a joint development effort between En-Trust and Inovateus Solar. The project demonstrates the commitment of Holgate Schools to reduce energy costs, protect the environment and provide valuable educational opportunities for their students to learn about renewable energy.
“The district is extremely grateful for this opportunity and excited to see this project come to fruition,” said Kelly Meyers, superintendent of Holgate Local Schools. “Some of our students had a chance to see the solar field up close and ask questions of the engineers. This type of real-world learning experience is valuable and memorable. Classes will have the opportunity to track the energy production and consumption. That meaningful data is easily woven into multiple curricular areas.”
The solar array has been completed following two months of construction lead by the Inovateus team. En-Trust, who provided energy efficiency upgrades and provided financial backing for the entire capital investment, will sell energy from the solar array to the school on a 25-year contract. The 235-kWdc solar array will produce over 335 MWh of energy per year. This will cover approximately 80% of the school’s energy demand, and reduce energy costs by the same amount. This equates to a reduction of 4,200 tons of carbon emissions over 25 years.
The energy overhaul of the school includes energy efficiency technology, including LED lights throughout the building, an ice chiller and upgraded HVAC controls. All of these upgrades, along with the solar array, will produce energy savings that will defray the costs of the overall project.
“Holgate Schools will save significant amounts of money through technological upgrades in demand and production,” said Jeff Feasby, engineering and operations manager of En-Trust. “En-Trust is happy to lead this project, which will be a visible sign of Holgate’s commitment to the environment. The solar savings will be a means to allow the school to offset the cost of the energy efficiency upgrades.”
Inovateus Solar, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, has been working on projects with schools across the country for several years. “We are very pleased to continue our history of providing solar solutions to educational institutions,” said Nathan Vogel, VP of business development. “As Inovateus strives to have a positive impact on the communities it serves, we were pleased to work with local experts APA Solar Racking and Superior Energy Solutions on the implementation of the project.”
The solar array was switched on in early December.
News item from Inovateus Solar
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