Couple’s solar gift helps power Beaver Brook’s return to nature
WILLIAMSBURG — The clubhouse at the former Beaver Brook Golf Course, what was not too long ago a venue to grab some beers and hang out after playing nine holes of golf, is being transformed into offices as the course continues to be rewilded by The Trustees of Reservations and Hilltown Land Trust.
Last week, something was obviously different about the building after solar panels were installed on the former clubhouse’s roof. The panels will provide 21.83 kilowatts of energy, enough to fully power the office space which will be used by the Trustees and the Land Trust. The panels were donated by PhippenAdams Solar LLC.
The LLC was started by married couple Morey Phippen and Brian Adams. Over seven years, PhippenAdams has invested $3.5 million that has gone toward 63 projects, including installing solar panels at the Northampton Survival Center, Leeds Elementary School and the Northampton Senior Center.
Wendy Ferris, The Trustees’ vice president for the Valley and Central Massachusetts, thanked PhippenAdams for its donation, especially since reducing carbon emissions is part of the statewide organization’s five-year plan to “inspire climate hope.”
“This is a great partnership opportunity for The Trustees that will directly address our strategic priority to reduce our carbon footprint across our organization,” she said. “We greatly admire their mission and want to thank PhippenAdams Solar for this creative donation and support for Beaver Brook.”
Phippen and Adams said they contribute panels to nonprofits they support, and began doing so after their parents died and left them with some money. “We really didn’t need anymore money to live our lives,” said Phippen in a recent phone interview.
The couple put up the panels at no cost, charge the agency they donate to for six years, and then the panels are donated to the agency. Over the course of the six years, said Adams, electricity costs drop significantly.
They chose to donate panels to the Trustees because they believe in their work, and also to support the work they are doing to rewild what was the Beaver Brook Golf Course.
Adams said that before rewilding the 260-acre golf course was a “biological wasteland” due to constant pesticides and other maintenance needed to manicure a golf course. The rewilding, he said, will “transform it into a vibrant ecological habitat where people will also have space for recreation.”