The school incorporated various alternative energy and conservation measures as part of its $36 million expansion and renovation program from 2003-2006. The expansion program included the installation of a photovoltaic panel system for harnessing electricity, a solar pre-heating hot water system, refracting daylight tubes to allow the entry of natural light into interior spaces and a host of other energy and water-saving features.
Staff and students at the school are also engaged in cooperative business ventures involving green technology. One such venture was the design, manufacture, and assembly of a new solar product marketed by Technipower Systems Inc. of Danbury last summer, where students assisted in the development of Technipower’s instant solar portable photovoltaic systems.
This year, Valley Tech is serving as the lead applicant and fiscal agent for the new EnSAVE Program (Energy Solutions Accentuating Vocational Education), which was awarded a Clean Energy Workforce Development Grant. EnSAVE aims to train a network of vocational technical teachers in building science/weatherization, solar photovoltaic panels and solar domestic hot water systems. These instructors will then train students in the same technologies.
