2 MW Solar Project at Pennsylvania’s Westtown School Is Expected To Start Generating Powering in the Coming Weeks
A first-of-its-kind approval under Westtown Township’s solar ordinance, this 2 MW bifacial-tracker array will deliver >3M kWh/year, offset ~90% of campus load, and serve as a living lab for students.
From a first-of-its-kind approval under Westtown Township’s new solar ordinance to a nearly energized 2 MW array, BioStar Renewables’ featured project at Westtown School is officially in the home stretch. Mechanical installation and electrical integration are substantially complete, and initial power generation is expected next week, marking a major milestone for the campus and community.
What’s happened since groundbreaking
Over the past several months, the project team advanced construction while honoring the commitments made during approvals—maintaining low visual impact with robust landscape screening, meeting stringent stormwater requirements, and validating glare mitigation measures. Close collaboration with township officials, neighbors, and school leadership continued throughout to keep the project aligned with community expectations and the school’s sustainability goals.
Technology snapshot (from the project fact sheet)
- System size: 2.013 MWdc / 1.5 MWac
- Expected annual energy: >3,000,000 kWh, offsetting ~90% of campus electricity use
- Module tech: 550W bifacial panels on single-axis trackers to boost production
- Stringing & voltage: 27 modules per string at 1500 Vdc
- Power electronics: 125 kWac inverters operating at 600 Vac, tied into site switchgear and stepped to 4,160 V at the point of interconnection
- Annual impact equivalents:
- moving 275 gasoline vehicles from the road
- offsetting 159 homes’ annual energy use,
- 417 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled
These details come directly from the Westtown School Solar Fact Sheet.
Why it matters
- Fast, tangible decarbonization: >3 million kWh per year of clean electricity is a step-change for Westtown’s footprint and a model for suburban campuses.
- Regulatory first: This is the first large-scale solar field approved under the Township’s ordinance limiting solar fields to 10 acres, demonstrating a clear, replicable path for future community-scale projects.
- Educational value: The array will serve as a living lab for students and faculty, with visible clean-energy infrastructure and real-world performance data.
What’s next
- Energization & commissioning: Initial power generation is slated a couple weeks out, followed by performance testing, utility witness/acceptance, and permission to operate (PTO).
- Monitoring & optimization: After PTO, BioStar will monitor output, fine-tune tracker settings, and verify that production tracks the modeled >3,000,000 kWh/year.
- Campus & community updates: We’ll share first-week production highlights, drone imagery, and curriculum tie-ins once the system is online.
Thank you to our partners
This milestone reflects deep collaboration with the Westtown School leadership and community stakeholders, Westtown Township officials, and the engineering team at Bohler, whose local expertise helped navigate approvals and site-specific design challenges.
Stay tuned for the official “power on” update— Westtown’s clean-energy future is just about to go live!
#Solar #Renewables #CleanEnergy #Sustainability
