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From Newsday: (excerpt)
Smithtown schools to get $6M for energy conservation
BY STACEY ALTHERR 7:43 PM EDT, September 6, 2008
Smithtown’s school board has approved a $6-million energy conservation project that includes what is being touted as the largest combined solar panel installation at any Long Island school district.
Approximately $1.2 million of the project will pay for the solar panels which will be housed at 10 of 14 school buildings in the district: Dogwood Elementary, Mount Pleasant Elementary, Saint James Elementary, Accompsett Elementary, Accompsett Intermediate School, Great Hollow Intermediate School, Nesaquake Middle School, High School West, High School East and the Joseph M. Barton administration building…
Mark Dougherty, manager of distributed generation and renewable programs for LIPA, said Smithtown is one of 16 Long Island school districts that have installed or will soon install solar panels.
After $495,000 in rebates from the Long Island Power Authority and state aid offsets, the solar panel system in Smithtown, approved last month, is estimated to pay for itself in 41/2 years in terms of energy savings, said Joe Piro, the district’s plant facility administrator. The system’s life span is 25 years…
Smithtown School District, along with East Meadow and Bethpage, is also taking part in a LIPA program that brings specialists into middle schools to train teachers on how to instruct students about renewable energy and recycling.
Ehmann said he has great hope for the program’s success, adding: “We’re teaching the importance of recycling and conserving energy. It’s a comprehensive approach to being proactive.”
Filed under: Education, green, local, long island, Solar, sustainability, sustainable Tagged: | energy, LIPA, renewable energy, schools, Smithtown, Solar Energy
i could only wish that solar panels cost only several hundred dollars, i would love to fill my roof with solar panels -*-