Trinity College

Panels are the First Renewable Energy Devices to be used at Trinity

New Solar Panels at the Treehouse
HARTFORD, Conn. – Five solar panels, each weighing 35 pounds, have been installed on the roof of The Treehouse, one of four new theme houses that will be opening at Trinity during the fall 2009 semester. The Treehouse, at 125 Allen Place, is a student-run facility dedicated to sustainability and environmental responsibility.

The 200-watt panels, which were purchased from Groom Energy Solutions of Salem, Massachusetts, were installed on the south side of the roof. They were installed by North Shore Solar & Windpower of Beverly, Massachusetts. Groom, a company that develops renewable and energy efficiency technologies, and North Shore are working with Trinity to reduce the College’s carbon footprint.

The panels will harness solar energy and convert it into electrical energy that will help fuel the daily functions of The Treehouse.

Although the 1 kW solar-panel system will supply only about one-quarter of the electricity that The Treehouse will use, it’s considered “a huge step forward” by campus environmentalists because it marks the first serious effort to make energy production and consumption visible on campus.

“I think it is critical for us to expose all members of our community at Trinity to as many lifestyle options as we can, including the use of alternative energies,” said Elisabeth Cianciola ’10. “Even if individuals do not choose to support solar energy independently, I hope that the solar panels we install at The Treehouse will encourage members of our community to challenge the status quo in order to address issues we observe around us.”

Cianciola is a member of the Campus Sustainability Task Force and one of Trinity’s most prominent environmental activists. She helped lead the drive to have the building at 125 Allen Place converted into an environmental theme house. Although it’s taken about a year to get The Treehouse furnished, rehabbed and usable, it will be up and running when the semester begins and will host an open house for first-year students on Sunday, September 6.

The three on-campus groups that are mostly involved in the operations of The Treehouse are Green Campus, the Outing Club, and the Sailing Club, although all students are welcome. There will be a kitchen, study rooms and a library stocked with environmental materials. The organizers also hope to create an organic garden, be a model for responsible living and provide a setting where residence-hall groups can plan events such as camping or kayaking trips.

Educational activities may include learning to cook vegetarian and/or organic meals, and hosting recycled art contests. Kitchen utensils will be metal, wooden, or ceramic, and only cloth napkins and towels and environmentally friendly cleaning products will be used.

Of the solar panels, Cianciola said it is her hope that Trinity “will continue to diversify its energy sources in order to power [the College’s] activities more sustainably.”

Karen Misbach, Trinity’s environmental health and safety manager and its sustainability coordinator, echoed Cianciola’s comments. “The solar panels are the first step to bringing renewable energy to campus to reduce our carbon footprint.”

In the summer of 2007, Trinity President James F. Jones Jr. joined hundreds of other presidents in signing the College and University President’s Climate Commitment. He subsequently appointed members to the task force, which has been meeting regularly and has recommended actions that the College can take to achieve climate neutrality. Some of them have already been implemented.

For example, because electricity usage is 49 percent of Trinity’s carbon footprint, the Facilities Department has already undertaken a number of projects, including replacing incandescent lights with fluorescent ones, and installing variable frequency drives. Together, they have reduced the College’s carbon emissions by 977,319 pounds or the equivalent of taking nearly 25 cars off the road.