Ted and Sierra Flanigan’s Clean Energy Crash Course: The Millbrook Solar Story
In this episode of Flanigan’s Eco-Logic, father-daughter duo, Ted and Sierra Flanigan host the clean energy crash course focusing on the Millbrook solar story, a project in which all the stars aligned. Not only did the solar system take a huge chunk out of an institution’s carbon footprint, but it was a good deal from the start, no money down and first year savings of over $50,000.
They start at the very beginning of the story, first sharing their family history – Ted being the grandson of the founder – then fast forwarding to 2013 when the solar system story begins. They then dive into the first steps: sizing the solar system, netting out efficiency, providing capacity for additional geothermal, and figuring out where to put the system.
They also discuss financing. The goal was to finance the system and to save money. Ted explains the Benefactor Investment Model that was developed for the project, giving credit to Millbrook Alum Mark Hopkinson. However, thanks to a New York State Grant, the system was ultimately financed with a highly favorable PPA.
Ted concludes by sharing the challenges and solutions along the way, as well as the next steps for Milbrook. He thanks all the key players for the success of the solar story.
