February 2017 | Business View Magazine

90 91 The installation is comprised of 22,000 solar panels on 40 acres and is recognized among the largest installations of its kind. AWC is expected to save substantially over the life of the power purchase agreement and Main Street Power owns and will main- tain systems for the life of the deal. “It speaks volumes that private business and public entities are committed to reduc- ing their carbon footprint, and the benefits to educational institutions especially accumu- late as they gain understanding and can ap- propriately budget for future power needs,” Hinckley said. CO2 emissions are offset by what is equiv- Main Street Power It speaks volumes that private business and public entities are committed to reducing their carbon footprint, and the benefits to edu- cational institutions especially ac- cumulate as they gain understand- ing and can appropriately budget for future power needs. Eric Hinckley senior vice president and chief technology officer alent to any of the following over a one-year period: 811,643 gallons of gas consumed, 16,837 barrels of oil consumed or the electric- ity consumed by 879 households. The power output also equates to the amount of carbon sequestered annually from more than 72 acres of woodland preserved from deforestation. Main Street Power uses its installations to educate the next generation of installers and engineers. Its K-12 solar science curriculum pro- vides extra training for teachers and hands-on lessons for students. Kids become more con- nected with science concepts and get excited about learning. University and college students receive an installation training program devel- oped by ICAST to teach young adults the specif- ics of the engineering and construction fields. “Having worked on three school districts and two higher learning campuses, we’ve been able to save schools and universities hundreds of thousands of dollars, which ultimately benefits students and teachers the most,” Hinckley said.