Donations needed for schools to go solar
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER (front, l to r) Marlborough Middle School Principal Dr. Sara Lane and Vice Principal Matt Ehrenworth meet with (back, l to r) Green Marlborough members Rich Berte, Jayne Wilson and Jennifer Boudrie at the school to raise awareness for the solar campaign.

Marlborough - Green Marlborough and the school district are appealing to city residents for help obtaining free solar panels for a Marlborough Public School building.

In order to qualify for a free solar panel, the city needs 150 residents to make a tax-deductible donation to the New England Wind Fund or join the National Grid's Green Start by Wednesday April 30. Fiftysix residents have already donated to the cause. Interested residents can make a $5 per month contribution or a one-time donation of $100.

The free solar panel array, which costs about $25,000, will be provided to and installed on one of Marlborough's schools by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The solar panel will drastically reduce the school's energy consumption and will benefit the school district, residents and the environment by not only decreasing the city's carbon dioxide emissions, but by saving money on energy usage.

"The solar panels make a renewable energy project visible in the community, and will help educate the community about clean energy," Green Marlborough founder Jennifer Boudrie said.