“Switch On Solar” Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Bard’s Pioneering Solar Infrastructure
The ribbon cutting ceremony for Bard's newest solar array. Photo by Wais Kakarr ’26
On September 25, Bard College hosted a ribbon cutting for a new solar array installed in Bartlett Field on the Annandale campus. College staff, faculty, and students, including members of the Sustainability Council, students from BardEATS and the BardE3 team, and the Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability, met to celebrate Bard’s progress toward clean energy and climate neutrality, a key part of Bard's Climate Action Plan.
Bard has been a leader in installing highly efficient geothermal systems for heating and cooling. With this newest addition, Bard’s solar arrays now generate 7% of the main campus’s electricity. Bard’s first eight-kilowatt array was installed in 2014, with the second 250kW array arriving in 2023. The newest 750kW array enables Bard to achieve over a megawatt of solar photovoltaic capacity, which generates over 1,300,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. This project signals a transition away from burning oil and toward the “beneficial electrification,” or replacing fossil fuels with electricity, that is necessary for a clean energy future.
About the new array, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Taun Toay said, “The solar arrays are not just a testament to our commitment to sustainability; they are part of a broader strategy that speaks to what we value as an institution. We believe our students deserve to study, train and compete at a college that practices what we teach about environmental responsibility. And unlike the ‘hidden’ commitments of geothermal and green electrical purchases, this is a visual testament that celebrates such work.”
Post Date: 09-29-2026
Bard has been a leader in installing highly efficient geothermal systems for heating and cooling. With this newest addition, Bard’s solar arrays now generate 7% of the main campus’s electricity. Bard’s first eight-kilowatt array was installed in 2014, with the second 250kW array arriving in 2023. The newest 750kW array enables Bard to achieve over a megawatt of solar photovoltaic capacity, which generates over 1,300,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. This project signals a transition away from burning oil and toward the “beneficial electrification,” or replacing fossil fuels with electricity, that is necessary for a clean energy future.
About the new array, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Taun Toay said, “The solar arrays are not just a testament to our commitment to sustainability; they are part of a broader strategy that speaks to what we value as an institution. We believe our students deserve to study, train and compete at a college that practices what we teach about environmental responsibility. And unlike the ‘hidden’ commitments of geothermal and green electrical purchases, this is a visual testament that celebrates such work.”
Post Date: 09-29-2026