FRAMINGHAM — Solar panels are coming to two city schools.
City councilors this weunanimously signed off on solar energy projects at the new Fuller Middle School and Brophy Elementary School. Finance Committee members approved the two projects earlier this month.
Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the new Fuller Middle School and on a canopy above the eastern parking lot at the school. Panels will also be installed on a canopy over the main parking lot at Brophy Elementary School.
City leaders worked with Solect Energy through the Power Options Program, an energy-buying consortium that operates a solar program available to municipalities, to pursue both solar energy initiatives.
More:Solar projects could come to two of Framingham’s schools
Solect Energy estimates the middle school project will result in more than $530,000 in savings over the 25-year contract. The Brophy Elementary School plan will generate about $380,000 in savings over the life of the 25-year power purchase agreement.
The projects will include battery energy storage systems, which are rechargeable battery systems that store energy from solar arrays or the electric grid and provide that energy to a home or business. Battery energy storage systems are being used in several federal and state solar energy projects, Shawn Luz, the city’s sustainability coordinator, said during a Finance Committee meeting earlier this month.
The projects will serve as an educational opportunity for Fuller and Brophy students to learn about the benefits of clean energy production.
Both solar energy initiatives are expected to be completed in 2022.
City councilors earlier this year signed off on a solar project at the McAuliffe branch library that will save more than $100,000 over the course of its 20-year deal.
Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.
