The City of Melrose has been awarded $340,000 in grant funding for participation in the Green Schools Initiative to support design and construction activities at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School. A $40,000 design grant has been applied towards designing and commissioning a 33.44 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system for the school. A $300,000 installation grant will cover the majority of the costs of installing the PV system.

The Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School was completed in September 2007 (PV panels will be installed in 2008). The school was certified as a Massachusetts High-Performance Green School in June 2005 by MTC, the Massachusetts Department of Education, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority using the Massachusetts Collaborative for High-Performance Schools (MA-CHPS) criteria. As a high-performance green school, the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School is very water efficient and will save over 350,000 gallons per year relative to a typical school of this size. The school is also about 30% more energy efficient than the Massachusetts minimum building code requirements which will save the City of Melrose about $100,000 per year on the utility bills for the school.

       Posted by Principal Brow - 01/02/09