WHITEHALL, NY – Same Sun of Vermont is pleased to announce that the solar project at the former Whitehall Armory, located at 62 Poultney Street in the Village of Whitehall, is now underway.  A total of 184 solar modules will be installed on the south-facing roof of the main facility, a castle-like structure that was originally built in 1899.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Whitehall Armory has housed U.S. Military and National Guard units going back to the Spanish American War.  The 37,000 square foot, brick and stone medieval-style structure sits on Poultney Street near the Champlain Canal, at the entrance to the Village’s historic waterfront. 

“No one who built this Armory is alive now. And the people who did build it would never have imagined that one day it would be solar powered. This is the significance of bringing 21^st century technology to a 19^th century landmark; you become very aware of the continuum that is our past and our future.” said Philip Allen, owner of Same Sun of Vermont.  

Vacated by the military in 2009, the property was redeveloped as an Athletic Club before transferring to the current owner, Winter Fellowship LLC.   The solar project was conceived in 2022 as a way to reduce the carbon footprint as well as costs, and a long permitting process ensued that involved approvals from the Village of Whitehall and Washington County, as well as the utility, National Grid.  NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency, will provide incentive funding through its NY-SUN program.

Emily Palm-Stikkers, Operations Manager at Same Sun, who shepherded the project through the design phase explained, “Any commercial solar array comes with site-specific challenges that require meticulous planning. Installing one on a 120-year-old historic armory that is the centerpiece of a small town adds even more layers of consideration, partnerships with multiple entities, and technical challenges. Bringing this impressive building up to modern NEC and building code standards, while maintaining its historical charm, has meant that great care and detail have gone into the visible attributes.“

Each year the 59.8kW array will generate 63,000 kWhs of clean, renewable energy to power future activities.

Whitehall has traditionally been known as the Birthplace of the U.S. Navy, but in the past year has taken on additional significance as a hub in the Champlain Hudson Power Express, an underground and underwater pipeline that will bring 1.25 megawatts of hydro-electricity from Quebec to New York City.  The announcement and ceremonial groundbreaking of this project took place at the Amory in November 2022, presided over by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul.

Same Sun of Vermont was established in 2011 by Marlene Lederman Allen and Philip Allen of Rutland Town, Vermont as a solar sales and service firm. More recently, Same Sun specializes in installations of EV chargers. Headquartered in historic downtown Rutland, Same Sun focuses on customer-driven solutions for the residential and commercial marketplace in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. Contact us at: www.samesunvt.com/contact.