Summit Speech School Goes Green

Summit Speech School, a non-profit organization that teaches deaf or hard of hearing children to listen and talk, has announced its New Providence, NJ facility will transition to solar power.

“As a responsible organization that works with children, our conscience guides us to make every reasonable effort to protect the health of our natural environment, and our renewable energy efforts support those beliefs,” said Dr. Pamela Paskowitz, the school’s Executive Director. “For more than 50 years, we have worked to become a leader in our community and we are proud to work with others on the global push for green energy solutions.”

Founded in 1967, Summit Speech School has always been in tune with technology that makes the world a better place. Today, with rapidly improving access to sound through digital hearing aids and cochlear implants, deaf and hard of hearing students can successfully integrate into mainstream schools. Each year the School serves 300 children, ages birth through high school, who live in northern and central New Jersey.

The School’s roof hosts a 365 kW-DC photovoltaic solar system, capable of producing more than 416,000 kilowatt hours of electricity its first year, and more than 8.3 million kilowatt hours over the next 20 years. It would take more than 6,700,000 pounds of coal to generate the equivalent amount of power. “This is the fourth largest commercial solar system in New Providence,” said John Thoms, the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees and the Borough’s former Mayor. “The purpose of this project was two-fold; reducing greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, while at the same time reducing our expenses so that we can focus more of our resources on the needs of our students.”

The solar panels generate clean, renewable electricity each year and garner state-sponsored renewable incentives and federal tax credits. “The energy savings the solar panels produce will directly reduce Summit Speech School’s operating costs and help ensure that benefactors’ donations directly impact the School’s children,” added Pamela Ranco, Chief Financial Officer of the School.

The project’s development and installation will be provided by Solar Landscape, a NJ-based electrical contractor specializing in large commercial solar integration projects. “We spent some time at the school and saw the wonderful work they were doing with the kids. We’ve built some of the largest solar systems in the Tri-state Area, but we have never worked on a more rewarding project,” said Shaun Keegan, CEO of Solar Landscape.

Interest in solar power as a sustainable energy source has steadily grown since its introduction. Solar installations increased 70 percent from 2014 to 2015 while costs have dropped 73% since 2006, leading some of America’s largest manufacturers such as GM, Amazon, Target and Walmart to install solar systems at their properties.

Dr. Pamela Paskowitz, Executive Director of Summit Speech School in New Providence, and John Thoms, Board Chair and former Mayor of New Providence, proudly show the school’s new solar panels.