Celebration of the Solar Panels at Christa McAuliffe Library

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FRAMINGHAM – In August 2021, crews began installing solar panels at the Christa McAuliffe Library branch on Water Street in the Nobscot section of the City.

On Sunday, June 5, the City of Framingham and the Framingham Public Library will celebrate the completion of the solar panel projects.

The public is invited to the event from 1 to 3 p.m.

City of Framingham Sustainability Coordinator Shawn Luz at the start of the solar project at the McAuliffe Library described the project as a roof-mounted solar energy project that was projected to produce approximately 85,000 kWh per year.

Constructed in 2016, the McAuliffe library branch is currently LEED-certified and rated as a Silver Level building.

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The solar panel project was approved by the Framingham Board of Library Trustees and then the Framingham City Council.

City of Framingham tapped Hopkinton-based Solect Energy through the PowerOptions Program, an energy-buying consortium that operates a solar program available to municipalities, to oversee the project.

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Luz told the City Council that the project will save the City of Framingham more than $100,000 during the life of a 20-year contract, with no upfront costs.

In 2021, Library Director Lena Kilburn said investing in green energy relates scientific and educational to the library’s namesake – Christa Corrigan McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, who tragically died on board the space shuttle Challenger. McAuliffe, a Marian High and Framingham State graduate, grew up in Framingham.