The Hill School of Middleburg, Virginia will dedicate the newly installed Hill School Solar Field on Wednesday, May 22nd. The 127.8kW DC field was designed and installed by Sigora Solar and resulted in minimal excavation and impacts to the School's grounds and embodies the School's commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. The Solar Field's design seamlessly incorporates the solar system into the landscape by situating the solar panels on a south facing sloping meadow and the roof of the school gymnasium. The System leverages the Virginia net metering law, a utility billing mechanism that enables residential and commercial utility customers to receive a one-for-one credit for all energy generated by their solar system up to 100% of the previous years' consumption. The Hill School's Solar Field's generation will potentially offset 1/3 of electricity use on campus, resulting in utility bill savings, squarely aligning the School's desire for clean energy with financial savings. The system will also provide greater utility bill certainty and insulation from fossil fuel price volatility to the School. Funding for the Solar Field was provided by generous individuals in the community who shared a vision of responsible resource use and environmental stewardship.

The utilization of the Solar Field in the school's place-based education curriculum is already being articulated by the 7th and 8th grade science and math programs who have used the Field as a catalyst to create a 3D model of the system to analyze the system's generation and benefits, evaluate solar business models, and expand understanding of renewable energy generally. To date, it has produced the equivalent of planting 3,250 trees or saving over 120,000 lbs of CO2 emissions. Head of School, Treavor Lord, states, "The Solar Field is a physical manifestation of the school's commitment to Place-Based education, environmental stewardship, and the value of alternative energy sources. We are proud to have it as part of our campus and program."