A 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic project under construction on Gee Hill Road in South Royalton will meet over half of Vermont Law School's current electric energy requirement while reducing its carbon footprint, President and Dean Marc Mihaly announced today. VLS, guided by the school's Energy Clinic and Sustainability Committee, selected Tunbridge Solar to install the solar project.
"This new solar farm brings to fruition a goal we set years ago as part of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment," Mihaly said. "The Vermont Law School community is proud to be a model of sustainability for higher education institutions across the country. I credit our Energy Clinic at the Institute for Energy and the Environment for this achievement and congratulate the faculty and students involved in the solar project."
Professor Kevin Jones, deputy director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment, has worked on the solar project with student clinicians since last fall and selected Tunbridge Solar after evaluating seven proposals from a competitive solicitation on the school's behalf in December 2014. Per the agreement, Tunbridge Solar will build and own the 4-acre project, and VLS will buy all net-metering and renewable energy credits. Further, VLS will retire all renewable energy credits in order to ensure that the solar energy from the project reduces the campus' and Vermont's carbon footprint.
The project will be constructed with the same top-rated SolarWorld panels used on the two arrays on the VLS campus. SolarWorld is the largest U.S. solar manufacturer.
"The solar project will enable us to lower our greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce our—and Vermont's—carbon footprint," Jones said. "It's a win for our sustainability efforts at VLS and a win for the greater community. Our student clinicians have gained invaluable experience working on the project, and we're supporting the local economy by working with a local company that hires local contractors."
Aaron Kelly '16 of Tunbridge Solar worked to site the project to complement the agrarian landscape and allow sheep to graze under the array.
"The solar panels will be elevated four feet above the ground to enable sheep to graze beneath the array while it's producing renewable energy," said Kelly, who is working toward a Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL) at VLS. "We have taken a thoughtful approach to designing this project, and we are proud to be working with a number of talented and experienced local contractors to bring this new solar array into reality."
For more information about the solar project or the Energy Clinic at VLS, call Kevin Jones at 802-831-1054 or email energyclinic@vermontlaw.edu.
The Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School provides accessible resources on contemporary energy law and policy and is modeled on the fundamentals of a successful public policy consulting firm. The IEE distributes scholarly, technical, and practical publications; provides forums and conferences for professional education and issue development; and serves as a center for graduate research on energy issues, with environmental awareness. IEE research associates are selected from students in the energy and environmental programs at Vermont Law School, top-ranked in the nation for environmental law. For more information about the Institute for Energy and the Environment, email jthomas@vermontlaw.edu or call 802-831-1151.
###
Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation's largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; three Master's Degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy; and four post-JD degrees —LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, and Center for Applied Human Rights. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.