Schools

Work Progressing on Lawrenceville School Solar Farm

The 24,000 solar panels - expected to go online sometime in March or April - will generate 6 megawatts of energy, covering 90 percent of the school's needs.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by .

Construction is buzzing at the Lawrenceville School's 30-acre solar farm, scheduled to begin powering the campus in March/April 2012.

The 24,000 solar panels will generate 6 megawatts of energy, covering 90 percent of the School's needs. When complete, the farm will offset 5,300 tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking 2,000 cars off the road forever.

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The natural slope of the site makes the farm only partly visible from both Route 206 and Lewisville Road.

The panels, instead of being fixed at one angle, are built on single axis trackers, allowing the panels to tilt and follow the sun. The trackers will also minimize maintenance costs — in the event of a hail or ice storm, the panels can be positioned vertically to prevent damage.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During the day, the array will produce nearly twice the amount of energy needed by the School. The excess will be pushed out to the township. The School will draw from Public Service Electric & Gas after sundown.

The rich farmland below the trackers will not lie dormant. A bee-friendly wild flower mix will be planted between, beneath, and around the solar panels, and a professional bee-keeper will place hives around the array to produce honey for the School and for sale in local farmers' markets.


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