In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, Manhattanville College is hoping to install solar carports in its campus parking lots, which would provide the campus with approximately 20 percent of its overall electricity.
Jon Strauss, Manhattanville College’s president, appeared before the Harrison Planning Board on March 22 to promote the project.
“All in all, this is a good project that will encourage our students and others to be more conscious of our sustainability imperative, will assist the college and our region in minimizing carbon impact, and will be a source of pride to us all,” Strauss said.
The carports proposal is just the latest eco-friendly initiative that Manhattanville has put forth in the last few years.
In 2009, the college joined the The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which is a national network of U.S. colleges that have pledged to drastically reduce their carbon footprint in an effort to address global warming.
According to Greg Palmer, vice president of operations at Manhattanville, the college has managed to reduce its carbon footprint by 35 percent in the past seven years so far. This was achieved through means such as installing energy-efficient windows, switching to LED lighting, and replacing things like boilers and heating systems with more energy-efficient ones.
The school is partnered with Energy in the Bank, a company that finances, installs and operates solar carports for municipalities, nonprofits and businesses. If the carports are approved, the college will enter into a Power Purchasing Agreement with the company, which means that the company will own the ports, and the school will pay them for the electricity provided.
Palmer said that in comparison with electricity rates from Con Edison, the carports are also financially beneficial to Manhattanville. He said that the solar panel-generated electricity will cost the school about 10.5 cents per kilowatt an hour, as opposed to 17.5 cents per kilowatt an hour for conventionally generated electricity. The school estimates that this would add up to approximately $125,000 in savings per year on electricity after the switch.
At the board meeting, Strauss addressed some concerns he thought the Planning Board might have about the logistics of installing the carports.
In an effort to assuage any concerns about how the carports might affect the local community, Straus told the board that the solar panels are being positioned to have “minimal visual impact” on Purchase Street and Anderson Hill Road, and are designed to minimize glare. He also said that the school has communicated with the Purchase Fire Department about the project in order to assure that emergency vehicles continue to have easy access to the campus.
Palmer said he thinks the idea will be popular with the college’s student body as well.
“I think [the students] will also like the fact that they can park under them, and keep their cars out of the rain and snow, so it’s win-win for the college and the students,” Palmer said.
If the college’s proposal is approved by the town and the process goes smoothly, the carports should be up and running by early October, according to Palmer.
