Stacy Saglibene, District Superintendent of the Greater Southern Tier BOCES, announces completion of the 13-acre solar field in Elmira, NY at the Bush Campus. GST BOCES is known for its values of service, leadership, collaboration and integrity in the region and this green initiative is a prime example of just that.
Taking years to come to fruition, the GST BOCES solar field was a dream prior to the pandemic and was executed through three changes in leadership. District Superintendent Saglibene and two previous superintendents, James Frame and Kelly Houck, worked with HUNT Engineers, Architects & Surveyors to move this initiative forward and determine the best location for the project. In June of 2021, GST BOCES Director of Operations and Management, Brad Yackel, along with former Director, Brian Bentley, led the decision to contract with Revenous, out of Ithaca, NY, to design and install the solar field at the GST BOCES Bush Campus, in partnership with HUNT.
Collaboration with our student programming, in October 2022, was key regarding preparing the land. GST BOCES Conservation program, instructed by Matt Bryant and Val Kimmerly, guided students through prepping the site, rerouting and building road access to accommodate tractor trailers with equipment for the project, and filling in an existing pond.
By April 2023, the required racking was installed and the solar panels themselves were installed shortly after. Electrical wiring and perimeter security fencing was completed and the required telephone poles were erected with underground wiring to the solar field. The final step was to have NYSEG make needed upgrades to a nearby electrical substation to accommodate the electric that the solar field produces.
The GST BOCES solar field, funded by an Energy Performance Contract at no cost to taxpayers, will offset energy costs for all GST BOCES campuses. The solar field produces 4.04-megawatt DC which is sent to the grid. This solar field is expected to offset electrical costs not only for all three campuses, but other host site locations as well.
Revenous offered safety features and an innovative interactive module for our students. Unique to our solar field, our interactive module produces data that allows our students to see what the solar system is producing and sending back to the grid. This is now incorporated into student learning in the Conservation program.