Going green: Five Trumbull schools to receive solar arrays
April 22, 2016
ALDEN, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Connecticut company has announced its intentions to build three solar energy systems in Erie County.
Greenskies Renewable Energy will be creating systems over the course of the next year to generate power in the county.
“The company will build three ground-mounted solar arrays that will produce an aggregate total of 8.1 megawatts of clean electric power in two Erie County towns,” said Michael Silvestrini, Greenskies’ president, CEO and co-founder.
One of the projects will be a 2.7 megawatt ground-mounted system next to the Erie County Correctional Facility. The two other projects are to be built in Evans and generate a combined 5.4 megawatts of power.
“The clean energy generated by the three systems will be used to offset electricity usage at several county-owned buildings and facilities, considerably reducing the county’s utility costs,” Silvestrini said.
25,500 solar photovoltaic panels will be utilized in the project.
“The solar power purchase agreement is the kind of project the council supports and recommends to county leadership,” said Anne Bergantz, chairman of the Erie County Environmental Management Council. “We believe that renewable energy development is a strategic planning and resource priority that has multiple benefits for our region that include cost saving, improved air quality and public health, and climate change mitigation.”
Greenskies expects to start building the Alden system this Fall, and the Evans systems next Spring.