PARIS — Work to install solar panels that will be used to heat the locker room showers with hot water at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School is expected to begin next week, according to school officials.
School director Nick DiConzo of West Paris said there will be two systems installed on the roof of the high school on Route 26, one to provide hot water to the showers and a second to run the pumps.
The work is part of a $2 million-plus conversion project from oil to wood chips and other energy efficient measures to cut escalating fuel costs and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Major work began last week to house a biomass furnace to heat Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School by midwinter.
“Oxford Hills is going green and looking for gold,” DiConzo said.
Concrete was poured last week to provide the floor for a massive wood chip storage unit in the back of the school. The next step will be to build an addition to house the furnace.
The biomass furnace, which is being paid for in part by a $750,000 state Department of Conservation grant, is expected to save the district as much as $120,000 a year in fuel costs.
School officials say the biomass project will result in a number of “green” benefits, including a huge reduction in the use of fossil fuels.
The overall project will also add other energy-saving initiatives, including LED lighting and sensors in the high school parking lot and equipment to heat water in the locker room showers in the summer.
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