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Ridgewood’s Benjamin Franklin Middle School Goes Solar

BF Solar
August 19,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The solar panels were approved by the Board of Education in 2015, and were supposed to be erected last summer, but were pushed back for various reason to this summer.

According to the Ridgewood Board of Education ,Eight Ridgewood schools have been receiving a portion of their electricity from solar power since late 2012/early 2013 ; • Ridgewood High • BF Middle • Glen • Hawes • Orchard • Ridge • Somerville • Travell •

Total installed solar capacity of 841 kW • 2014 solar energy production of ~875,000 kWh • 2014 savings from using solar energy ~$70,000

BF Middle School will add • 329.4 kW Carport Mounted System • $0.125/kWh year 1 PPA Price with a 3% Escalator • Year 1 Savings ~$18,000 • 15-Year Savings Potential >$275,000

Information was pulled from March 25,2015 presentation from Verterra :https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/923620/File/solar/Verterra%20Solar%20-%20Phase%20II%20Presentation.pdf?7fcb75&d7f070&d7f070

13 thoughts on “Ridgewood’s Benjamin Franklin Middle School Goes Solar

  1. Oy crikey, we’ll be lucky to live through these shenanigans. Who wants to take a bet that Valley Hospital owns Beterra? Or that reflected sunlight starts cooking the second floor classrooms or some nonsense like that. Unintended, unplanned for consequences always seem to rear their collective ugly head. Why can’t we just focus on basic governance and administration without ranging so far afield? Or are our senior managers too bored to keep their eyes on the ball?

  2. 1. How much did it cost?
    2. How much will it save annually? (or is green feel-goodiness the goal, not cost savings?)
    3. How long will it take to pay down the initial costs with the cost savings?
    4. How much will it cost to maintain annually? What is the maintenance differential between solar and non-solar?
    5. What impact (to the sun) if any will the proposed Valley expansion (building height) have on the solar panels?

  3. 1:40 pm sounds more like a totally uninformed response, why comment at all! As for 2:12pm most of your questions are answered in todays Ridgewood News.

  4. Please tell me that you will be able to get a cell phone signal in that school now with these enhancements. Anyone?

  5. That parking was a disaster before the panels were installed, it’ll be even worse now.

    By the way, a whole row of stanchions collapsed at a middle school in Teaneck last year….be careful out there !

  6. Solar is proven to save money if done properly. Then again, they might also serve as a signal to aliens looking to colonize our planet.

  7. The only way the Solar can been proven to save money is due to creative math. Much of the saving comes in the form of tax credits. Are the people who are angry about corporate welfare and bailouts just as angry about what is effectively the same kind of bailout in the form of tax subsidies?

  8. We shall see. They were installed.

  9. I saw them today. Ridiculous eyesore and will only make difficult parking into a nightmare. Will there be lights underneath to ensure clear visibility of pedestrians entering and leaving? Another lawsuit………..

  10. Good news for auto body shops in the area. Just horrendous. What’s the matter with the people who make decisions in this town?

  11. 8:48, you are all that’s wrong with Ridgewood. Your comments distill the majority sentiment that is driving Ridgewood in to secular decline…

  12. 2:11. kickbacks

  13. Should be huge savings on plowing in the winter too.

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