Original Solar Power Site Proving a Green Future

A four acre solar panel array commissioned by President Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter 28 years ago, still powers Beverly High School in Massachusetts. According to the Director of the non-profit Solar Now, who is responsible for the facility, it is the last remaining functional field of its kind in the US, from those very first funded experiments in solar energy. But the city of Beverly seems largely unaware of the significance of the hill side array of panels.

Mr Hopps says the site continues at 80% of its original output, has recently integrated newer technology panels and inverters, and will soon be supplemented by another 100 kilowatts of panels on the roof of the newly constructed replacement high school. He says, " From the top of our hillside we can see the Salem coal plant, the original array, the newer panels, as well as the high school roof top. It allows us to see the past, the present and the future of Green Energy." See video story reported by Christopher Gilbert.