Taking Advantage Of A Sunny Day—

Town Earns Solar Panels For Clean Energy Efforts

By Kendra Bobowick

Warming our skin and melting the midautumn frost, a sunrise that comes later in the morning as winter nears still holds promise: clean solar energy.

Recognized by the state’s Clean Energy Fund as a Clean Energy Community, Newtown has earned solar panel installations, which officials discussed this week. “This sets an example,” said Newtown’s Clean Energy Task Force Chairman Dan Holmes. “It’s a step toward progress.”

Curtis Packaging alone, which recently went completely green by converting to carbon neutral operations, and individual households that have opted to purchase renewable energy through the power grid have earned the state’s attention. According to state figures, two percent of the town’s households purchase renewable energy. Encouraged that homeowners have made the effort, Mr Holmes looked ahead, “We need more.” Hopefully, the solar installations will help.

While the four kilowatt solar installation will generate some power, it is more of a “symbol of progress,” Mr Holmes said. “It’s educational for the kids,” he explained, as he noted the handful of sites proposed to receive the panels. “My preference is to put one on the schools,” he said. Anticipating the state will like the idea, Mr Holmes said, “Kids are a big part of it.” The state has final say regarding panel locations. Proposed sites are Reed Intermediate School, the police department on the corner of Route 302 and Main Street, the wastewater treatment plant, and Bridgeport Hall in Fairfield Hills, which is being renovated for a new town hall and education board offices.

Monday, as he anticipated this week’s Thursday morning meeting with the state, Mr Holmes expressed his hope that the panels will be in place by the first of the year. Thursday, November 13, found task force representatives and state personnel weighing the possibilities of each location.

The solar panel program is designed to “get the word out about clean energy,” said Emily C. Smith managing director, external relations for Connecticut Innovations Inc, which administers the Clean Energy Fund. “Residents and the municipality can work together and address issues as far as the town being sustainable.” By working together, “the town and residents can do something good” for Newtown’s energy consumption. Newtown will also be a part of a state “on its way to being a clean energy state,” she said.

First Selectman Joe Borst favors green technology and the town’s recent, separate initiative to surpass the state’s challenge to be “20 percent by 2010,” or make 20 percent of its municipal electricity purchases through renewable resources by the year 2010. As the Clean Energy Task Force looked around the state to see how other towns had responded, members realized that a 26 percent purchase commitment would put them at the forefront. “There is nothing wrong with that. It’s not much more expensive and we should be in a position to lead the way if we can,” he said. Hopefully the bold move will encourage people to “go green on their electric bill,” he said.

He agrees that by catching sight of the solar panels in town and following the example set by the task force, residents will become increasingly aware of environmental issues including energy use. “I think people are just waking up to the fact. People will think more closely about where their money is going and what they spend it on,” he said. Mr Borst also believes the green move is practical, and supports “anything we can do to help ourselves so we are not dependent on foreign oil.”

Mr Holmes feels that the municipality is “a little ahead of the curve in some ways.” Collectively, the town’s green push “represents something important.” (See related story on page B-16)