Protecting the Places We Hold Dear
By Max Wagner, Investment Associate
The original Eastham Library building beside the new solar ready building opened in 2016.
There’s something special about architecture that thoughtfully and meticulously weaves together the old and the new. Designs that draw upon the history of a place but transform it with a breath of modernity. The Eastham Library in Eastham, Massachusetts is one of those places.
Created in 1878 with a $175 appropriation from the Town of Eastham, the Eastham Library started as a collection of books in a small room above the town’s general store and has been growing ever since. When town officials considered moving the library to a site with more space and additional parking, the community made their opinions clear in a town survey: the library should stay where it’s been for over a century. Town officials listened and in 2016, the new library opened on the original site, a massive new building connected to the original 1898 building with faded cedar shake siding.
A brand-new accessible building wasn’t the only renovation made to modernize the Eastham Library; 116-kilowatts of solar energy were also added to the rooftop. The solar project is the result of a partnership between Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative, ACE Solar and Sunwealth. The Eastham Library project is part of a portfolio of seven municipal installations across Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard that will generate over $2 million in combined lifetime savings for Cape Cod communities.
“The savings from the solar project will be huge for the town and will benefit the local ratepayer,” said Eastham Library Trustee Al Alfano.
Local residents will enjoy the savings, but also the educational opportunities that come with a solar installation on a municipal building that sees thousands of visitors per year. Alfano says that they plan to add a kiosk in the lobby of the library to showcase how much energy the solar panels are producing and demonstrate why clean energy is important.
“Part of the library’s mission is to provide education to people of all ages in the community. Bringing solar to the library gives us an opportunity to show people how clean energy works, using the panels on our rooftop as an example,” said Alfano.
It’s something that the Eastham community is already interested in, according to Adam Prince, Eastham’s Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative representative. “There’s a sense in the community that protecting the natural environment is necessary. Residents here care about reducing their environmental footprint,” said Prince.
Reducing the environmental footprint is especially critical for a town best known for being a beach community that serves as the ‘gateway’ to the Cape Cod National Seashore. Sea level rise and stronger storms brought on by climate change have the potential to threaten coastal habitats across Cape Cod. Though it can be difficult to project how much the sea-level will rise and when it will occur, even conservative projections place fragile ecosystems at risk.
It’s important to pause and reflect on how climate change might affect the places that we hold dearest. These are the places to which we feel a special connection, places that occupy a spot in our hearts and don’t let go. The residents of Eastham were adamant about wanting to protect a place that was dear to them: the original Eastham Library site. With the new solar installation, they are now doing their part to help protect the natural environment that makes Cape Cod a special place for so many people.
Max Wagner is an Investment Associate at Sunwealth and a senior at Northeastern University. He is a renewable energy advocate and believes that harnessing solar energy is key to combatting climate change and building an inclusive energy future.