LOCH SHELDRAKE – Sitting on a footprint about the same size as the classroom buildings at Sullivan County’s community college, a 7,000 panel solar array is partially on line. The 12-acre field, ideally situated on a southwestern slope to maximize exposure to the sun, is owned and operated by Sullivan Solar Garden LLC.
When fully on line, the array will generate half the electricity needed by the college
It is a valuable teaching tool, said SUNY Sullivan Interim Director of
Sustainability Larry Reeger, an associate professor of green building
technology.
Reeger: “A lot of our
philosophy …”
“We use our campus as a living laboratory,” said Reeger. “The students will actually be able to go down and observe, just kind of the feel of how the solar farm works.”
Once at full power, the Solar Garden will generate up to two megawatts of power an hour. That means up to half of the electricity needed to run the campus can come from the sun.
SUNY Sullivan President Dr. Karin Hilgersom said going solar is not the first time the college has turned to the earth for energy.
“This project is a model for our county but it’s also a model for our region,” Hilgersom said. “The power produced by the array will bring SUNY Sullivan very close to carbon neutrality because we also are powered in part by a geothermal field which we put in years ago.”
Reeger agreed.
“A lot of our philosophy here on campus is to provide sustainability for the community,” he said.
Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson said the “legislature has been very excited about this project.”
The solar array was installed at no cost to the college by Enerparc Inc.
of California. Sullivan Solar Garden, LLC operates its arrays and sells
power at or below local utility rates.
