East Lyme High School

Solar Photovoltaic

System Size (kW DC): 478.45

Expected Annual Electricity Generation (kWh): 454,050

Click here to view live energy data from this system!

Thinking Big with Solar

One of the largest solar photovoltaic installations at an educational institution in Connecticut is located at East Lyme High School. In 2009, the school completed the installation of a 478.45- kilowatt rooftop solar array with approximately 2,800 solar panels.

According to the business manager of East Lyme Public Schools, installing solar at the high school made sense on many levels: economic, environmental and educational. Because the financing was structured using a power purchase agreement, the school was able to add to its infrastructure without adding to its budget. Under the terms of a 20-year agreement between East Lyme Public Schools and Constellation Energy, which was the system installer, Constellation Energy will own and operate the system and sell electricity generated by the system to the high school – at a rate that is predictable and competitive compared with rates for utility-generated electricity.

The solar array will not only help the school system save money by reducing its monthly electric bills, but it will also serve as a valuable educational tool. Students and others may access real-time data regarding the energy output of the system through an online link to information from a data monitoring system that is connected to the solar array.