Classroom Solar Project
We worked very hard over the last several years to develop an environmental education classroom/lab and wildlife rehabilitation facility that is 100% powered by clean, renewable energy! Our goal with this wonderful, forward-thinking, nonprofit, STEM education student project is to drastically reduce our carbon footprint and eventually remove our dependence on fossil fuels by taking advantage of the most available renewable energy resource in our little corner of the galaxy - THE SUN!
High above our classroom as it appears today
Phase Two: The second phase of our classroom solar project was completed in July 2019 and consists of an additional 14.4 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar modules bringing our total potential output to 19.2 kWh! As of July 04, 2019 - the day our entire solar array went online full time (our Energy Independence Day) - our nature center classroom/ENP office has been fully powered by clean, renewable, locally-harvested solar-produced electricity! In fact, our classroom array produces on average 3-4 times more energy than we need, therefore, it does not only supply our classroom with renewably-generated solar power but it also charges the battery of the ENP outreach EV - a 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV - AND it provides clean power for many other buildings on the campus of nearby Momentum!
Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute and carpenter Jim Hardy on solar completion day!
Phase Three: After the primary array was completed and energized in the summer of 2019, we began the planning and fundraising stage for the third and final phase of this amazing project. Phase Three will consist of a battery storage system that will store a portion of the excess power generated by the array. This energy will then be used at night to keep the building's systems running using stored solar energy as well as acting as a backup power supply during periods of power outages that are frequent in our remote, wilderness location. To make Phase Three happen we need your support. If you would like to help us make this happen for our classroom, our students, and our shared environment, please visit our donation page.
Our Solar Timeline
Phase One: Our solar array began construction in the fall of 2015, and by January 2016, Phase One was complete. It consisted of a 4.8-kilowatt photovoltaic solar array that offset around 1/2 of our energy use.
Steve and a student installing a solar module.
It is also a bold teaching tool for the students and visitors of our classroom, the participants of our outreach programming, and you, our online visitors. It offers our students a myriad of learning opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, project-based learning initiatives, environmental education, and energy conservation practices and experiences. It also provides web interface technology that allows the system to be monitored in real-time by our students in class on our campus and anyone from anywhere on the planet via our "Solar Array Live Feed" page where you can see how much power we have made today, yesterday and since day one!
.jpg)
Abby, Bob, and Steve, on the day we finished primary construction on the array.
Students working together to install a solar module
Why Solar?
Our over-dependence on fossil fuels is getting us into hot water with climate change, and with local and international resources, land rights, human rights, and deep political quagmires. The consensus among the majority of the world's scientists and forward thinkers is that now is the time to begin the phase-out of fossil fuels as our primary energy and transportation sources and now is also the time to ramp up the adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicle technologies to power and to move our society. On top of all this science is the simple fact that common sense says that if you have the technology to make your own energy for your home and fuel for your vehicle - then you should do everything possible to make it so.
Education
By installing this one-of-a-kind solar power station at our classroom - our students and visitors have and continue to benefit greatly from the applied use of renewable energy technologies in class by experiencing the first-hand functioning of real-world, renewable energy applications such as solar-electric power, and electric vehicles.
In our unique solar-powered science and nature center classroom, our students learn the facts. They bust through the negative myths often associated with renewable energy and electric vehicles by studying them up close and firsthand, and by assisting with the maintenance of functioning solar and EV technologies in class. After leaving, our graduates will be more up-to-date, connected, and ready to accept the reality of, and make use of, sustainable, clean energy and transportation systems to power and drive their lives and their futures.
Students cleaning the 600-watt student-built solar array constructed as a pilot project in 2014.
.jpg)
GO SOLAR!
The Earthshine Nature Programs/Momentum Science Classroom Solar Array was funded with monetary, technological, and supply donations from many local individuals and organizations and constructed by Executive Director Steve O'Neil, his students, ENP interns and volunteers, with expert assistance and support from Black Bear Solar Institute and SolFarm Solar.