Upper Cape Cod Tech

Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School (UCT) is a public vocational-technical high school in Bourne, MA. UCT has 725 students with thirteen areas of vocational study. The school offers traditional vocational programs in the areas of plumbing, electrical, carpentry, health careers, information technology, marine services, automotive technology, collision repair and cosmetology

Challenge

Local energy development company Green Seal Environmental had worked with Upper Cape Tech to design their solar canopy, but didn’t have the capacity to execute the project and see it through to installation. Furthermore, UCT needed a company willing to install the project under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) due to their inability to take advantage of the tax breaks that help make the installation more affordable. As a technical school, UCCT had a variety of major contributing factors for their energy costs and needed a way to get them under control.

Solution

Solect stepped up to the plate willing to purchase the rights to install the project and make the canopy a reality under a PPA agreement for UCT. The massive canopy is 663 kW and will see a portion of its energy distributed to the town’s Recreational Authority during the school’s relatively inactive months through the summer.

Results

The resulting canopy is among the biggest carport style solar installations at a high school in the entire state. The structure can be seen from the infamous Bourne Bridge that is the gateway to Cape Cod. The array will serve as an educational component for the school over the next 20 years and beyond as the school has engineering technology, environmental sciences, and electrical programs that can benefit from having the canopy readily available.