New Solar Projects Reduce Groton’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels

Groton School is about to take a sustainable leap forward as a solar-powered, net-zero building opens and a separate solar grid nears completion.

 

Gardner Village, Groton’s first LEED-certified building, will provide four units of faculty housing on the site where founding master Amory Gardner once lived. Faculty already have begun moving into the energy-efficient residences, which stand beside dedicated solar panels that will power the building and push any excess energy to the campus grid.

Gardner Village will be LEED-certified to at least the gold level, indicating extremely high efficiency and careful attention to green building practices. The school expects to learn in September whether standards for LEED platinum, the highest level, have been met. The 2015 Schoolhouse renovation also met many efficiency standards, including geothermal heating, but did not seek LEED certification.

 

Also underscoring Groton’s commitment to environmental sustainability is the John B. Goodenough ’40 Solar Battery Farm, named for the alumnus and recent Nobel Prize winner who pioneered the science behind the lithium-ion battery—technology that will be used to store energy at the site.

The Goodenough Battery Farm project took root in 2016, when students argued convincingly for a solar project, giving a thorough presentation to the Board of Trustees and lighting the fuse for what would ultimately become the Goodenough site. The panels will be generating electricity by mid-August, said Director of Building and Grounds Tim Dumont, while the battery, delayed because of the pandemic, is expected to be in place by late September. By storing energy for use during peak periods, the battery may help the local electric company avoid using a diesel-powered generator during those peaks.

 

The solar energy generated at this site and at Gardner Village will significantly reduce the campus’ dependence on fossil fuels. “As we’ve faced COVID-related challenges, we have not lost sight of our commitment to reduce Groton’s environmental impact and its reliance on fossil fuels,” said Headmaster Temba Maqubela.

 

A third building project will revitalize Groton's Dining Hall, allowing for an expanded servery, additional seating upstairs, and improvements to lighting, ventilation, and the flow of diners. A decades-old spiral staircase was removed to increase usable space, and most food prep was moved downstairs to what was formerly offices and storage. The staircases flanking the Dining Hall, once narrow entryways behind doors, have been widened and opened to the dining area, allowing outdoor light to pour in. The renovation will be complete by the start of the school year.

 

The beautiful building, constructed in 1903, was first built as a gymnasium and became a Dining Hall in the early 1960s. The Classical Revival architecture has proven adaptable as the building enters yet another chapter of its long life.