Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 1/7/2021
GRANBY – An innovative solar project was proposed at the most recent Granby School Committee meeting on Dec. 23 by the president and co-founder of a newly established local company.
SolaBlock, a newly established green energy company based in Easthampton, makes vertical solar wall systems that produce electricity by the sun. The company recently established a partnership with the town of Granby to design a green energy solution to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the partnership would improve ventilation for the public schools to meet the needs of their current and post-COVID-19 environment.
“We’re looking to go to the next level and start getting this out,” president and co-founder Jason Laverty said. “We’re looking for pilot areas and platforms to showcase our product as well as demonstrate the power of the technology and creating green usable electricity on the site of the building.”
Instead of transmitting energy through a solar farm and going through the grid, Laverty explained it would be placed directly on the building to power the structures that need that power and to offset the potential power needs.
The Granby Select Board asked the School Committee for their feedback and approval in order for this project to continue, and to consider the Granby Junior Senior High School building as a potential site. However, SolaBlock’s proposed project is still in its discovery phase and the product is in the process of being finalized.
Eventually, the committee approved the exploration of a solar energy project with SolaBlock without any commitment to financials or project work.
“We are in agreement that the Granby Junior Senior High School building can continue to be considered as a potential site for the installation of SolaBlock’s technology. Since the rest of the project details such as design and cost are yet to be determined, we wanted to make sure that our approval did not mean that we are fully committing to the project at this time,” stated Chair Emre Evren. “Once those details are available, the town and SolaBlock will come back with answers to the questions we had and with more precise information related to the design and cost of the project.”
The meeting then went on with an update regarding the school’s reopening plan.
At the Dec. 15 meeting, the committee voted to move to remote learning until after the holiday break. They made motions and voted on which grades would return to hybrid learning as well as when during the month of January. After that meeting, the committee heard there was a confusion as to whether all of the pre-K students were returning on Jan. 11.
Superintendent Carol Hepworth clarified that students in the applied behavior analysis (ABA) programs, structured learning centers and the high-needs preschoolers on Individualized Education Program (IEP) are the students that will return on Jan. 4. Additionally, all of the teachers and paraprofessionals that support those students said they will return at that time.
The committee then amended the motion of all high need students are returning to in person learning on Jan. 4. Students who are not high needs from pre-K through grade seven that have begun hybrid learning will return on Jan. 11.