A local committee is recommending the Town Council adopt net-zero building standards for all new construction and rehabilitation of town-owned buildings… and that includes Barrington Public Schools.

The recommendation coincides with a push to renovate and re-size five of the six public schools in Barrington. 

“Absolutely, we cannot lock in more fossil fuels into our buildings,” said Barrington Resilience and Energy Committee Chairman Magnus Thorsson. 

Thorsson said the school department should commit to net-zero buildings with its proposed construction: high-efficiency buildings that rely on solar panels and other renewable energy sources.

“It’s much cheaper for taxpayers to go net-zero right out of the gate,” Thorsson said, adding that he believes it would be irresponsible for the district to put students into buildings that are not net-zero. Thorsson said a net-zero school would save approximately $20 million in energy costs over the life of the building. 

A recent flyer that supports the $250 million school construction bond endorses net-zero buildings and shows that school officials feel similarly to Thorsson. It states that renovated schools will be “good for the environment” and that they will employ new construction standards that are “vital to reducing carbon emissions and meeting our climate goals.” It also states that newer schools use less energy and water, and that net-zero building can even make money with its use of renewable energy.

Thorsson said school officials are speaking of net-zero and sustainability, but he has not seen a specific plan or commitment. 

Thorsson pointed to the current middle school building which is solar panel-ready but still waits for officials to approve installation of a photo-voltaic array. 

“The school department hasn’t shown that they’re eager to go net-zero,” he said. 

Thorsson said the district and taxpayers could have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars if officials had earlier installed PV panels on the middle school. 

“The $350,000 in savings that we’ve lost,” Thorsson said. “Now it’s closer to $500,000. The meter is ticking… we have to pay… the savings are lost.”

Thorsson said Barrington’s public schools consume the majority of the electricity used by the town. He cited the town’s 2015 energy use update, which showed that the district’s schools accounted for 77 percent of the town’s annual energy cost. 

Thorsson said the recommendation by the Barrington Resilience and Energy Committee, should it be adopted by the Town Council, would require that any new construction by the school department or renovation of the buildings adhere to net-zero standards. The policy would also require that all other town-owned buildings, such as the Barrington Department of Public Works headquarters or the Bay Spring Community Center, should they be rehabbed, follow the same net-zero standards. 

The policy brief drafted by the Resilience and Energy Committee cites the Barrington Resilient Future Resolution, which was endorsed by the Town Council. That resolution lists among its top priorities “installing solar and zero carbon systems on public buildings and property to include school buildings and facilities.” The brief also states that the town must accelerate efforts to meet the set emissions goals of 45 percent by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. 

“The Town Council has the fiduciary responsibility to evaluate any building proposal on the merits of economic and societal benefits,” stated the policy brief. “Net-zero all-electric public buildings offer benefits including lower construction costs, lower carbon emissions, improved public safety, better indoor health, higher efficiency, and lower operating costs especially when paired with PV panels.”

Thorsson said the town should install solar panels on some of its capped landfills. Thorsson said a couple of the landfills have been solar panel-ready since 2012. He added that a landfill installation could generate close to one megawatt of electricity, which would be enough to handle the energy needs of the Barrington Public Safety Building. 

Thorsson said the Resilience and Energy Committee would like to see the town reduce or eliminate a large portion of its energy needs. 

“This is what the Council promised to do,” Thorsson said, referring to the Council’s signing of the Barrington Resilient Future Resolution. “This is what we are responsible for. We should have best practices in place. We need to do this now.”