Look out the window of teacher Kimberly McGlinchey’s science classroom at Portsmouth High School and you’ll see 52 solar panels stretched out on the flat, black roof. They’re a recent addition — installed last summer and switched on in March, the panels have so far generated close to 1,800 kilowatt-hours of electricity and saved closed to 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from hitting the atmosphere, according to McGlinchey.
In terms of energy, that’s not a lot. But solar projects are all about the long game — hours and days and months and years of solar energy accumulating into something more. In fact, that’s how the solar project at Portsmouth High School started. McGlinchey is the advisor for the schools’ ECO (Environmental Change Organization) Club. Six years ago, she and the club’s members started raising the $10,000 needed to build a small solar array. They held road races, started crowdfunding campaigns, and held a “Sell a cell” sponsorship drive, in which students and their parents could buy a solar cell for $5 or a whole panel for $300.
“The students who started this project during their freshman year graduated two years ago,” McGlinchey says.
Solar panels at Portsmouth High School.
Those efforts are just now starting to pay off. According to McGlinchey, the array should generate enough energy to meet the needs of the school’s science department. She plans to use the panels in the classroom, too; a website tracks data on how much energy the panels are producing, a tool students can use for various projects. And the ECO Club has other projects on its horizon, including plans for a pollinator garden to help struggling bee populations. McGlinchey’s hope is that each effort inspires another.
“We just plant the seed, and hopefully it grows,” she says.
That’s exactly how small and medium-sized solar power projects are spreading throughout the Seacoast. Within the last year, a handful of new solar energy projects have come online, and new projects are in the offing.
Challenges and opportunities
Residential and modestly sized solar power projects are “on the uptick,” according to Kate Epsen, president of the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association. This winter, the average cost of electricity in the state was 19 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the national average of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
But solar energy still faces challenges in the state. Compared to other New England states, New Hampshire offers only modest tax incentives for solar projects, and, according to Epsen, state legislators like to “tinker a lot with energy policy.”
Another challenge is consumer knowledge. “A lot of people still aren’t fully aware that solar completely works in New Hampshire, that there’s plenty of sun and the technology is very mainstream at this point,” Epsen says.
Solar energy may soon go mainstream, both in New Hampshire and nationally. In late April, SolarCity, one of the country’s largest solar providers, announced it would expand its operations into the Granite State. SolarCity’s founders are Pete and Lyden Rive; their first cousin is Elon Musk, founder of the Tesla electric car company. Just a few days after SolarCity announced its plans to sell solar projects in New Hampshire, Musk announced that Tesla is developing a $3,500 battery, called the Powerwall, that would let consumers store solar energy at home.
“Since solar hasn’t deeply penetrated the market, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of different players and competition.”
— Kate Epsen of the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association
It’s too early to tell how SolarCity and the Tesla battery might affect renewable energy in the state, but Epsen thinks the increased attention will ultimately help solar power become a more viable option. Most solar companies install systems that consumers purchase outright; SolarCity offers its systems for lease.
“Since solar hasn’t deeply penetrated the market, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of different players and competition,” Epsen says. “(SolarCity) will help get more capacity online and … New Hampshire-based entities (can) do well and maybe reach more customers as the visibility of solar increases.”
Solar remains a small part of New Hampshire’s renewable energy offerings. Biomass and hydroelectric power are more prevalent, Epsen says. So is wind power, even though it’s “been very difficult” to get new projects online. Solar projects in the state are generating about 10 megawatts of energy, compared to the approximately 500 megawatts worth of projects in Massachusetts, according to Epsen.
Panel power
Solar projects in the area are adding up. In March, officials in Somersworth signed a memorandum of understanding with Lowell, Mass.-based American Capital Energy to begin looking at building a solar panel array on the site of the city’s former landfill on Blackwater Road. Similar projects are underway in Jaffrey and Peterborough.
On Star Island, a large-scale solar array went online last November. The panels generate about 132 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 30 homes; it’s the largest off-grid solar system in New England, according to Jack Farrell, the island’s manager and facilities director. The array is supplemented with a 600-kilowatt-hour battery bank, along with diesel generators. Farrell says the array and battery back-up will meet about three-quarters of the island’s energy needs. Before installing the project, it took about 20,000 gallons of fuel a year to power the island; Farrell expects that to drop down to about 5,000 gallons.
“It’s pretty significant,” he says.
Solar panels at the Wells Reserve in Wells, Maine. Photo by Alyssa Grenning
The array is part of a larger effort to make the conference center and other facilities on the island more energy efficient. Getting fresh water on the island is also a challenge — along with using solar power to keep the island’s reverse osmosis water filtration system going, Farrell says the island has received permission from the state Department of Environmental Services to filter the rainwater it collects for drinking water. It’s the first time the department has approved such a program, Farrell says.
“The island has always been at the leading edge of these activities, because we have to be. Islands are like that. You can’t turn on the faucet or plug in the lights. You have to provide for yourself,” he says.
Farrell says he’s been encouraged by the positive response the solar array has generated. He’d like to see the island serve as an example for renewable energy efforts.
“(The island) has all the same challenges, but on a smaller basis. But on that basis, we can make big improvements quickly and see results,” he says.
Making an example
Similar projects are taking shape in Maine. In South Berwick, 144 solar panels were installed on the roof of the town’s public library. The project was completed using money earmar