Powering Change: What Beneficial Electrification Means for Chewonki
From our Fall 2025 Chronicle Alumni Magazine
At Chewonki, learning and sustainability are deeply intertwined. Every experience—from farm chores to field studies to nights under the stars—invites participants to see how their choices ripple through the natural world. Now, we’re taking that understanding further through beneficial electrification—a key step in our long-term plan to decarbonize campus operations and model real-world climate solutions.
So what is beneficial electrification? In simple terms, it’s the process of replacing systems that rely on fossil fuels—like heating, vehicles, or equipment—with efficient, electricity-powered alternatives that can run on solar generated energy. And to make that shift even more meaningful, Chewonki is taking ownership of how that energy is produced. Our new 480-panel agrivoltaic solar array will provide the power necessary to sustain our campus operations while demonstrating the practical impact of clean energy in action..
Soon to be installed on the Eastside Pasture, the array represents a major leap toward a decarbonized campus. Once operational, it will generate 100% of the electricity Chewonki needs, saving approximately 140 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year—the equivalent of taking 30 cars off the road—and reducing our operating costs by more than $1.5 million over its lifetime. Designed to coexist with our working farm, it will provide shade for grazing sheep while producing renewable power—a living example of harmony between technology and nature.
This project reflects Chewonki’s belief that real progress comes from doing, not just teaching—turning our values into visible, measurable action. By pairing clean energy generation with the gradual electrification of our heating, transportation, appliances, and tools, we’re building the foundation for a campus powered entirely by renewable energy. It’s a big step toward the ambitious goal we set in 2012: to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030.
More importantly, it’s a chance to show what climate action looks like in practice—to demonstrate to every student, camper, and teacher who visits Chewonki that sustainability isn’t an abstract ideal, but a daily, achievable reality. This work continues a long tradition at Chewonki: turning understanding into action, and action into lasting impact.
