In keeping with the tradition of sustainability and education, Auerfarm is harnessing the sun with the newly installed solar array on the farm’s animal barn roof.
“The new solar panel installation on our Animal Barn is a perfect example of Auerfarm’s emphasis on the environment, science, and education. We thank our partners at Annie Fisher School for helping to make this possible. As always we invite our neighbors and the entire community to visit the farm and enjoy this new learning experience.” says Mark Weisman, Board President.
The solar array at Auerfarm is composed of 40x 340W connected to a SolarEdge Inverter system, and is connected directly into the farm’s electric service. With solar, the farm will experience:
- 18,347 kWh of first year power – replaces over 50% of Auerfarm’s annual electrical consumption with green, 100% sustainable sun-sourced energy.
- Annual electrical savings of $2,500, and enrolled in the CT Small ZREC program for an additional $1,900 annual REC credits
- A 25-year cumulative benefit of over $100,000, which can now be used for additional programs and caring for the site
Solar is a 100% renewable, sustainable source of power that will help Auerfarm meet other goals as well:
- Offsets the CO2 Emissions equivalent to 11 Acres of forest growth per year, or taking 2.5 cars off the road every year
- Easily monitored and clearly labeled for educating future students and visitors on the technology
- Solaredge monitoring allows individual panel performance to be viewed, for both deep educational sessions and easy maintenance of the system for years to come
The solar project was funded by the Annie Fisher Magnet School
The 120 acre Auerfarm was a gift from the grandchildren of local business women, leader and philanthropist, Beatrice Auerbach.