SIT Activates New Solar Panel Installation

Publication Date: December 6, 2017
Publication Location: Brattleboro, VT
Contact: Kate Casa  |  [email protected]

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – The School for International Training this week activated a new solar power project that is expected to produce approximately 260,200 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually and mitigate 183 metric tons of carbon in the first year alone. The 196.5-kilowatt project is also expected to save the institution approximately $10,000 in energy costs per year.

The carbon offset equates to more than 105 tons of coal burned annually.

“This project goes a long way in helping SIT move toward our goal of becoming a greener campus,” said SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett. “It is part of an organization-wide climate action plan to become more energy efficient.”

The solar panels are located on a hillside adjacent to the Lowey International Center on SIT’s 200-acre campus near Brattleboro. The project is also linked with research, classes, and a community lecture series that started this fall and will continue in spring 2018.

The solar installation was made possible with a $100,000 grant from Windham Regional Commission (WRC) funded in part through a settlement between the state of Vermont and Entergy Vermont Yankee to support renewable energy generation projects in Windham County.

The project was installed in partnership with Dynamic Organics, a renewable energy developer in Putney, Vt.; Solar Design Associates, Inc., an engineering firm in Ayer, Mass.; and Sunwealth, a Boston-based clean energy investment firm.

“As a local developer, we understand how every installation affects our community,” said Morgan Casella, managing partner at Dynamic Organics. “We’re proud to be part of a project team that helps create a more resilient economy right in our backyard.”

In keeping with its environmental commitment, SIT has also joined a tri-state “Ecovation Hub” with Keene State College and Antioch University New England in Keene, NH, and Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, Mass. Together, the schools have committed to helping train the next generation of environmental stewards and leaders.

Aligned with that commitment, in fall 2018 SIT will launch a one-year MA in Climate Change and Global Sustainabilityto prepare students for careers in policy and advocacy work. The SIT courses will be taught in Iceland and Zanzibar for one semester in each location.

SIT Graduate Institute offers accredited graduate degrees in eight areas of study. SIT Study Abroad offers more than 80 study abroad programs for undergraduate students, including multi-country comparative programs through the International Honors Program (IHP).