The Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School District (MTRSD) spans over 250 square miles and serve eight rural towns: Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Plainfield, and Shelburne.

Goals and opportunities:

Rising electricity costs put significant pressure on the MTRSD business office to find more affordable energy solutions. As a Massachusetts DOER Green Community, the school district required a solution to enhance the community’s financial and environmental well-being. They contacted PowerOptions (PO) to explore its solar program, and Solect was ready to help them achieve solar success.

Solution

The Energy Committee, Business Office team, PO, and Solect collaborated on this project. Team Solect developed the proposal, engineered the design, and worked closely with staff while engaging the School Committee to review the plan. PO provided contract templates from their solar program, streamlining the contracting process and making it both efficient and cost-effective.

Results

Year 1 projected savings: $31,300

Solect installed the solar system at a competitive PPA rate, covering all project costs, including maintenance, over a 20-year term. The 374.9 kW solar project comprises 781 solar panels across their south-facing metal roofs. In its first year, the system is expected to generate substantial savings of $31,300, with total savings of $796,000 projected over the next 20 years.
The system is projected to offset a staggering 430,000 pounds of carbon in the first year and a total of 8,200,000 pounds of carbon over 20 years.