‘The biggest winners are the kids’: Fisher Hill Elementary celebrates new solar array, outdoor classroom

ORANGE — With a new solar array, battery energy storage system and outdoor classroom at Fisher Hill Elementary School, the town is preparing a sustainable future for the next generation.

Community members, industry leaders, and local and state officials gathered at the school on Thursday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the solar array and battery energy storage system, as well as an outdoor classroom, built with support from the Green Communities program, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program and National Grid.

“It’s the perfect example of the type of work that we support with the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program and also the Green Communities program,” said Katherine Antos, undersecretary for decarbonization and resilience at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “It really allows us to work with cities and towns across Massachusetts to build resilience and prepare for the future that you want to see.”

Solar and battery energy storage system

On the roof of the school is a solar array installed last winter by Solect Energy, with funding from a $390,290 MVP grant and a $144,168 Green Communities grant. The solar array connects to a battery energy storage system that was funded by a $160,000 grant from National Grid.

Michael Porcaro, director of innovative grid solutions at National Grid, said Massachusetts has become oversaturated with solar connections to the grid, but Fisher Hill Elementary School provided the opportunity to try something new by connecting the array to a battery system rather than tying it into the grid. The company plans to study this closed-loop system for a few years and see how it can be implemented elsewhere.

“This really is one of the state-of-the-art facilities in the state right now. We’ve got some new equipment that can monitor the solar and the batteries in an advanced way,” Porcaro said. “So you’re really doing a lot of help to the whole state here, not just the school itself.”

He added that another benefit to the project is that being located at a school, it would provide students with the opportunity to learn and see firsthand the possibilities of solar energy.

Town Administrator Matthew Fortier said it is estimated that the solar array will be able to cover 50% of the school’s energy needs, allowing for significant cost savings that could be put toward student needs.

“The project was totally funded by grants and rebates, and it’s been great to be able to go to the taxpayers and say, ‘Not only did we build this for effectively no cost to the taxpayers, but we’re also going to be reducing our carbon footprint by 50% at Fisher Hill School,'” Fortier said. “We can take that savings at the school and turn that into, what we hope is, student-facing positions at the Orange elementary school.”

Outdoor classroom

With the same MVP and Green Communities grant, the school was able to hire White Oak Timber Frame and Woodworking to construct an outdoor classroom next to the pond.

“It’s such a great project, and to have an amazing spot for the kids to come out and recognize how important our environment is and how important it is to protect our environment and learn about it,” said state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol. “Congratulations to everybody here, but I think the biggest winners are the kids.”

“This is fantastic,” added Selectboard member Jane Peirce. “We are so lucky to have this for the kids. We don’t want them to be playing on iPads all day. They can come out here and look at the beautiful things growing in the wetlands.”

Principal Lisa Lewis said the space was designed “to inspire learning, connection and curiosity beyond the walls of a traditional classroom,” and was grateful for all the volunteers and partners who helped make it a reality.

“This project has been a vision in the making,” Lewis said, “one that reflects our commitment to providing an enriching, flexible learning environment for our students.”