Making The Most Of Sunlight —

Solar Panels Installed At Reed Intermediate School

By Kendra Bobowick

Two men carried large dark panels across Reed Intermediate School’s roof October 22. From the ground, children tipped their heads back to watch.

Alteris Renewables Project Manager Josh Carter tried to answer the rapid number of questions the curious sixth grade students asked about solar panels that his company secured in place last Thursday, which are now converting sunshine into power.

From the crowd of raised hands he pointed to one, then another.

What if it’s dark for months at a time, like Alaska?

“It won’t make electricity then, so maybe they can use batteries to store energy, or use power lines, like here,” he said.

What if it rains?

“It still produces some power.”

Are there lunar panels?

“They’re rare and won’t produce much.”

Why separate panels instead of one giant one?

Simply, “It’s too heavy,” he said, glancing at Greg and Craig Teschendorf as they walked panels across the roof and settled them in place.

How long do they last?

“They last a really long time,” he said. A solar panel that had been installed in the 1960s is still in use, he pointed out.

With help from other Alteris members including Jodi Gold and Lynn Wasik, and teachers Valerie Pagano-Hepburn and Rich Neeb, Mr Carter and the others offered more detail.

Who invented them?

Ms Gold replied that she believes the panels were created for NASA and used to help power equipment for astronauts.

Inside the school is a meter where students can see what the panels are generating.

Through the help of the former Clean Energy Task Force, which has recently become the Sustainable Energy Commission, Newtown received the panels after the task force worked with the municipality to purchase as much as 20 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2010. Newtown has gone beyond the goal and now pulls 36 percent from renewable resources.

According to commission member Ted Kreinik, who also was at Reed School last week, part of the commission’s aim will be to increase Newtown’s already high rank among area towns using renewable energy. The commission can increase the number of households and businesses using renewable energy and in turn get more panels through the state’s incentive program.