School breaks ground with new roof

Kudos to Philly's appropriately named Greenfield School! Last Friday, the Albert M. Greenfield School, between the Schuylkill River and Rittenhouse Square, became the first public school in Philadelphia to have a solar energy system installed on its roof.

This is part of a "Greening Greenfield" initiative, and the roof isn't the only way the school is going green - but since Earth to Philly was unable to be at the event on Friday we're going to turn you over to the press release for the heavy lifting. Read on:

Mercury Solar Systems, Inc., one of the top solar integrators on the East Coast and Inc500's "10th Fastest Growing Energy Company", contributes to the greening of the Albert M. Greenfield School with a 5.33 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system. This is the first solar panel system installed on a public school roof in Philadelphia.

Andrew Kleeman, General Manager for Mercury Solar Systems in Pennsylvania, commented, "Greenfield and the Philadelphia School District have taken great strides to create a more sustainable environment for the children and local community and we are honored to be a part of this groundbreaking project. Mercury Solar Systems has deep roots in Philadelphia and we hope this will spark similar projects at other schools across the city."

Greenfield's system consists of 26 solar panels and is expected to produce 6,400 kilowatt hours (kWh) every year. The environmental benefits are equivalent to recycling 103,998 cans of soda, planting 350 trees and not burning 516 gallons of gasoline.

Pat Toy, Co-Chair of the project committee, said, "Our "Greening Greenfield" initiative could never have gotten off the ground without the support of our numerous donors including Mercury Solar Systems. We are excited to roll out Phase III of this five stage project in our quest to transform the exterior of Greenfield School."

The solar project is part of a large initiative driven by the parents, teachers, administrators of the Greenfield School and the Philadelphia School District called "Greening Greenfield". The pilot project seeks to develop a green physical environment at the school to teach the students about the Earth, to provide a green oasis for the community, and to serve as an exemplary public structure. The other completed phases include installation of a weather station on the roof plus school yard improvements which incorporate a storm water management system with two indigenous woodland forest rain gardens, porous pavement, permeable recycled play surface, an agriculture zone garden, and solar shading from 40 new trees.