It’s fitting that the largest high school in the state will be among the first in New England to install a rooftop solar panel energy system. The AP via WTNH has a succinct explanation:

(New Britain-AP, Nov. 24, 2006 2:50 PM) _ New Britain school officials are preparing for a major roof replacement at New Britain High School that uses solar energy on a large scale.

The photovoltaic energy system in the roofing material is expected to generate about 275 kilowatts of electricity. It could save the district about $40,000 a year.

Basically, the roof is 23 years old and needs to be replaced anyway, so the school building committee seized the opportunity to make a significant investment in alternative energy. Bravo!

The roof replacement proposal had to be withdrawn and resubmitted, and was approved (I think) on November 20. More details in this article at the New Britain Herald, as well as the date of the next Board of Education meeting, Dec. 4.

Here’s a short video of a community college being built in Silicon Valley that is also using photovoltaic panels: