The outdoor living history museum Old Sturbridge Village has turned the switch on a 5,400-panel solar energy system, adding a 21st century technology to a 19th century community.
Old Sturbridge Village is expected to save $1.5 million on energy costs over the life of the system.
The energy system, installed by Solect Energy of Hopkinton, is expected to produce 2.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to offset about three-fourths of the museum’s power use. It’s enough energy to equal taking 351 cars off the road each year, according to Solect, which announced the completion of the system on Thursday.
A Connecticut company, Green Street Power Partners, owns and operates the array and will sell the energy generated by the system to the museum at a fixed rate for 25 years.
Old Sturbridge Village depicts a rural New England town in the 1830s with more than 40 buildlings. It added a public charter school, Old Sturbridge Academy, in September. Third graders at the school were taught how solar arrays work and contribute to a cleaner environment, Solect said.
