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October 24, 2000 NEW HAMPSHIRE HOSTS FIRST REGIONAL SOLAR ON SCHOOLS CONFERENCE More than 40 New Hampshire high school teachers, joined by teachers from Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and representatives from other interested organizations participated in the first annual New England-wide Solar on Schools Conference held recently at the University of New Hampshire. The conference was organized by the New Hampshire office of Solar Works, Inc. Montpelier, VT., and sponsored by the New Hampshire Governor's Office of Energy and Community Services (ECS) and the University of New Hampshire's Office of Sustainability Programs.
The conference was designed primarily as a training workshop for teachers from the 16 high schools currently participating in the New Hampshire Solar on Schools Program and for staff from other schools interested in establishing solar projects. The New Hampshire Solar on Schools Program provides one or two kilowatt roof-top solar electric (photovoltaic) systems, training, and renewable energy curriculum material to schools that apply through a competitive grant process. Conference speakers included global climate change expert Dr. Barry Rock of the University of New Hampshire's Complex Systems Research Center; Dr. Tom Kelly, director of the University of New Hampshire's Office of Sustainability Programs; Vicki Mastaitis of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council; Rob Wills of Advanced Energy Systems; Chris Mason of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, Greenfield , MA; Cyndy Gunn, ECS's Green Schools Program; and Leigh Seddon, President of Solar Works, Inc. New Hampshire teachers also spoke on how they have integrated their school's solar electric system and renewable energy material into their schools' educational program. Conference participants also viewed the one kilowatt photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the University of New Hampshire student union building by Solar Works and the innovative permanent solar exhibit in the student union produced by the Office of Sustainability Programs with support from the Governor's energy office's Renewable Energy Technology Grants Program.
ECS is a partner in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Million Solar Roofs Initiative. Richard Michaud of the Boston DOE office presented certificates at the conference to teachers from the New Hampshire schools that recently joined the Solar on Schools Program. Twenty percent of high schools in Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) service territory are part of the Solar on Schools Program. The state's largest electric utility, PSNH provides power to over 75 percent of New Hampshire residents. The program is a public-private partnership among ECS, Solar Works, Inc., and PSNH. Other primary sponsors include Northeast Utilities, Hartford, CT; and the Cyrus and Barbara Sweet Fund of the Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation, Portsmouth, NH. The New Hampshire Solar on Schools Program now comprises sixteen high schools. For more information on the New Hampshire Solar on Schools Program contact : Joseph Broyles, Energy Program Manager or Richard Eidlin Bio-Oil
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