Littleton’s Reuben Hoar Library celebrates green future with installation of solar panels

The Reuben Hoar Library received 96 solar panels, which were installed and turned on March 28, 2023. The library, which reopened in its new building in November 2021, will celebrate the achievement at a ribbon-cutting June 10 at 10 a.m. (Courtesy Katrina Hagberg)

The Reuben Hoar Library in Littleton, as seen on Dec. 17, 2021. (Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun)

LITTLETON — Sustainability is at the heart of libraries: You borrow a shared book, return it and lend another patron the opportunity to read it.

That core value also drove Littleton librarians and other stakeholders to contact state Sen. Jamie Eldridge to power their community with more than just books.

After two years of advocacy, both in Littleton and at the State House, the town is taking a green step forward with the installation of nearly 100 solar panels on the roof of the new Reuben Hoar Library. Eldridge successfully secured $110,000 in funding for the project in the fiscal 2022 budget.

Members of the library's Board of Trustees, intent on taking climate action within their own community, reached out to Eldridge asking for an earmark for solar panels that would allow the library to partially run on clean energy, Eldridge said.

The inquiry launched an "organic, local effort" spurred by community organizers rallying for a cause, he said.

"I really appreciate that grassroots local leadership and commitment on climate action," Eldridge said. "It's our job as state legislators to do what we can to help, so it was a real great partnership."

A total of 96 solar panels were placed on the library's roof and turned on March 28, and patrons are able to read a digital meter inside the library displaying how much sun-powered energy is coming into the building. Eldridge, alongside other local leaders and library stakeholders, are celebrating the achievement at a ribbon-cutting on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

While library personnel do not yet know the exact energy coverage the solar panels provide, they’re estimated to produce 130-150 kilowatt hours on a sunny day, said Board of Library Trustees Treasurer Katrina Hagberg. That meant that last month, the library saw a 25-30% reduction in energy usage, thanks to the panels, Hagberg said.

The design for the new Reuben Hoar Library was crafted with the intention to integrate solar panels, Hagberg said, but budget constraints prevented them from putting them up right away. With the help from the state, the addition became "financially feasible," she said. The 96-panel array "is the largest we were allowed to put on it," Hagberg added.

"Having solar panels is another way the library itself can reduce its environmental footprint," Hagberg said, "and we can also showcase to the town how solar panels, and green energy itself, can benefit both the library and the town environmentally and economically, so it's a nice showcase for our town."

Supply chain issues and working with the Littleton Electric Light & Water Departments delayed matters, Eldridge said, but the payoff has been huge. Once the Littleton Senior Center is built next to the library, it, too, will be powered entirely by solar panels, once Eldridge finds funding at the state, he said.

The solar panels also contribute to the state's 2030 and 2050 year roadmap goals to reduce carbon emissions, Eldridge added.

"I think sometimes people maybe overlook that our municipal buildings, our schools, our senior centers, our libraries are actually a major carbon footprint across the state," he said.

The initiative seems to align with Littleton's master plan, which notes a commitment to update town facilities and structures so they "can withstand the impact of climate change and other twenty-first century hazards."

"The library was built with taxpayer dollars. We want to make sure that buildings that are supported by the public, that are serving the public, are first of all powered by clean energy," Eldridge said, "but also how that's going to send a message to all the families and patrons that go to that library and see those panels and say, ‘Well, geez, I should be putting that up on my own roof. I should be thinking about climate.’"

The Reuben Hoar Library celebrated its grand reopening at its new location, 35 Shattuck St., in November 2021 and boasts 23,000 square feet of space.

State Rep. Jim Arciero called the panels a "proud environmental accomplishment" and one that will greatly benefit the residents of Littleton.

"The solar panels will provide green energy and clean electricity for the patrons of the library, as today's libraries have become more than just book depositories, but serve as critically important social centers for all ages to participate in many diverse activities," Arciero wrote in an emailed statement. "I applaud Senator Eldridge for his strong leadership in the State Senate to secure this funding for the solar panels which will reduce the use of fossil fuels in Littleton and have a positive environmental impact for years to come."

Though completed, the project, in many ways, "feels like just the beginning," Hagberg said. The library is now heading into arguably its busiest time of the year: summer reading.

"We have the new building, we have the solar panels and now we get to refocus on really providing resources and programs and other things for the community in this beautiful new space that we have been able to build here in town," Hagberg said. "It's a welcoming gathering place."

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