The Connecticut Green Bank recently released a video celebrating the completion of seven solar energy projects at technical high schools across the state, and we were proud to have served as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner. The video, “CTECS Go Solar Using CT Green Bank’s Solar MAP+,” captures the culmination of a multi-year partnership between the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS), the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS), the Connecticut Green Bank, and our team, an effort that brought clean, renewable energy to schools while giving students a front-row seat to the solar industry’s future. The video features our CEO, Will Herchel, and Project Manager, Torre Babich, both speaking to the significance of the projects and the partnership behind their success.
As EPC partner, Verogy designed, constructed, and energized solar photovoltaic installations across the CTECS schools, delivering a mix of rooftop systems and raised canopy structures. Together, the completed projects delivered almost 4 megawatts of clean energy generation while cutting carbon emissions by the equivalent of roughly 2,290 metric tons annually. Over the lifetime of the panels, CTECS is projected to save approximately $5.4 million in energy costs, dollars that can now be redirected toward sports programs, arts programs, and shop equipment for students. The schools that benefited from the new solar systems include:
- Howell Cheney Technical High School, Manchester (756.8kW carport system)
- F. Kaynor Technical High School, Waterbury (448.8 kW rooftop system)
- I. Prince Technical High School, Hartford (170.5 kW rooftop system)
- Eli Whitney Technical High School, Hamden (832.7 kW rooftop and carport systems)
- Emmett O’Brien Technical High School, Ansonia (897.6 kW rooftop and carport systems)
- Henry Abbott Technical High School, Danbury (656.7 kW carport system)
- H. Ellis Technical High School, Danielson (959.2 kW roof and carport system)
Positive Results From a Collaborative Effort
None of this would have been possible without the vision and partnership of the Connecticut Green Bank, CTECS, and DAS. We’re grateful to these organizations for the trust they placed in us throughout a complex, multi-site development process, one that required structural site assessments and construction phasing carefully coordinated to avoid disrupting students and faculty at active school campuses.
As a Connecticut-based company, these projects hit especially close to home. Designing, building, and energizing renewable energy systems directly on the state’s technical school campuses, and giving CTECS students a firsthand look at where the solar industry is headed, made this work personally rewarding for our whole team.
A Personal Connection for Our Team
For Babich, a Wolcott native and graduate of Wilcox Technical High School’s electrical program, the projects carried particular meaning. He supported the development of the CTECS projects, a full-circle moment given his own start in the trade.
“I got my start in the electrical trade right here in Connecticut, earning my diploma and logging 2,000 hours of classroom training,” Babich said. “Helping the CTECS projects move forward was incredibly rewarding, especially knowing they gave students that same kind of real-world experience.”
That personal thread ran throughout the video, which also featured CTECS students reflecting on watching the projects come together, from early structural site visits to seeing panels installed on their own school roofs.
Celebrating a Model for the Future
The video offers more than a look back at a finished construction effort. By involving students directly, from site visits to classroom instruction once the systems went live, the projects demonstrate how workforce development and clean energy infrastructure can reinforce one another, hands-on exposure with lasting value for a system serving roughly 11,500 full-time students across more than 30 Career and Technical Education programs.
We’re grateful for the opportunity to have served as EPC partner alongside the Connecticut Green Bank, CTECS, and DAS, and we look forward to celebrating more milestones with these partners in the future. We encourage you to check out the video, available here.
