Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment to Provide Oversight in Solar Array Development

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vermont (Feb. 6, 2025) — The Town of Tunbridge has received a $255,411.20 grant from the Vermont Municipal Energy Resilience Program for energy efficiency improvements. Of the total, $43,373 will be used for a 10.7 kW solar array to power the town offices and town hall. The project will be located next to an existing solar project at the local town garage.

The Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) at Vermont Law and Graduate School provided legal and policy assistance for the grant and will help oversee energy efficiency improvements and the development and construction of the solar array. “This project will offset the energy bills at the town’s two most energy-intensive buildings and provide valuable emission-free power and resiliency to the Green Mountain Power grid,” said Shared Gentry, a student clinician in the IEE’s Energy Clinic.

Todd Tyson, a local Tunbridge resident who has been instrumental in this project, stated, “This is a great project for the Town, and along with the energy efficiency component, it brings the impact of Town operations significantly closer to net zero.”

“Along with the environmental benefits, we are pleased these projects will save the town a significant amount of money once implemented,” said Tunbridge Selectboard Chair Member Gary Mullen. “This is a win-win for the town and the environment.”

The solar project will go out to bid and is expected to be operating this summer. 

VLGS Energy Clinic professor Kirt Mayland and student clinician Ervin Yahr contributed to this project.

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Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, Facebook and Instagram.