Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Vanguard Energy Completes Solar Installation at Fairton Prison

Vanguard Energy Completes Solar Installation at Fairton Prison

The federal government is increasingly turning to solar panels to power its facilities, from military bases to correctional institutions. Vanguard Energy Partners announced Monday the completion of a 402-kilowatt solar installation at a Fairton, New Jersey federal prison. Vanguard worked with Constellation Energy to design and build the project, which comprises over 1,800 Unicor solar modules built by inmates from an Otisville, New York federal prison. The ground-mounted array will save the facility over $80,000 in power bills in its first year and will prevent the emission of 790,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually."Turning to solar energy to help power our facility was a win-win," said prison warden Paul Schultz. "Now we will be able to combine significant cost savings with a reduction on our reliance of fossil fuels. Additionally, we were able to provide our inmates with the opportunity to work on the project and gain skills training in the green industry."The New Jersey solar installation will provide around one-quarter of the facility's power needs and makes FCI the first prison in the northeast to run partially off of solar power.

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