Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) to Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony for Solar Projects

At the June 21, 2010, Regular Board Meeting, the Board of School Directors approved a Solar Power Purchase Agreement with Tangent Energy Solutions conditional upon receiving grants from the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Construction of Phase 1 of the BASD solar PV program will begin in October of 2010 with completion scheduled for year-end. The Phase 1 projects will provide 1.6 MW of solar PV generating capacity spread across 5 BASD schools. The phase 1 projects, which are detailed in the table below, will provide nearly 2 million kWh per year of electricity and save 2.75 Million pounds per year of CO2 and other green house gasses. This is equivalent to the carbon produced by 275 passenger cars in one year or to the carbon sequestered by 306 acres of pine trees annually. In addition to the environmental benefits, the BASD Phase 1 projects will provide significant energy cost savings to the school district over the next 20 years. The Phase 1 BASD Projects, which were awarded grants in excess of ($1.8 M) from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development in July 2010, are estimated to save the school district more than $1.6M in energy costs over the life of the projects.

District Contact Person:
Dr. Joseph Roy, Superintendent of Schools, BASD 610-861-0500 ext. 60250
Mr. Arif Fazil, District Engineer, DʼHuy Engineering 610-865-3000