Harvard Forest is committed to making infrastructure decisions that advance state-level and Harvard University goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and sustainability. Major projects contributing to these goals include:
“Green” Garage and Solar Arrays
The Harvard Forest maintenance garage was designed and built by the Harvard Forest Woods Crew using timber sustainably harvested from our own forestland (see the Harvard Forest land-use master plan). The garage includes a composting toilet, several design features that enhance safety for researchers and the water supply, and incorporates reused materials from previous renovations.
Installed in 2007, an adjacent 10KW solar array, provides about 8% of the electrical needs for long-term research experiments on Prospect Hill. As of September 2022, the system generated 115,497 kilowatt hours of clean energy – enough to offset more than 154,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
View the real-time output figures from the Harvard Forest 2007 Solar Array.
In 2018, the Harvard Forest Woods Crew built a new sawmill building, the roof of which is equipped with a solar array. View the real-time output figures from the Harvard Forest 2018 Solar Array.
Thermal Biomass Facility
In 2013, Harvard Forest converted to a new, highly efficient thermal biomass system to heat the campus’s five main buildings (totaling 41,255 square feet). All cordwood for the system is harvested from Harvard Forest land by our Woods Crew (see the Harvard Forest land-use master plan) and loaded regularly by the Crew during the cold season. For more information, including specs and associated research, visit our Biomass Heating System page.