FOX CHAPEL, PA -  The future of Shady Side Academy students is looking bright thanks to a generous donation from Jim & Jack Scalo to the prestigious Fox Chapel private school.

The McIlroy Center for Science and Innovation was christened on Friday with faculty, donors, and students in attendance.

A major feature of the 22,000 sq. ft state-of-the art facility is 104 solar panels installed on the roof by Scalo Solar Solutions. The panels will produce 375 watts of power each, making it a 39kW system. It will produce approximately 37,000 kilowatt-hours annually. The panels will produce enough power to:

-         Power three homes for the next 25 years

-         Prevent 30,000 lbs. of coal from being burnt and released into our atmosphere

-         Reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from 67,500 miles of driving by a passenger vehicle

-         Sequester the same amount of carbon it would take a forest of 32.4 acres.

Students will be able to see in real-time the effect the panels have on the energy consumption of the building with a live monitoring feed in the facility’s common area.

“The Jack and Jim Scalo families are proud to contribute to the educational component of renewable and clean energy with our donation of the solar array to benefit many future generations of Shady Side academy students,” said Scalo Companies CEO, Jack Scalo.

The McIlroy Center for Science and Innovation will be home to the Senior School Science Department and is planned to open in fall of 2018. It will feature 10 flexible classroom lab spaces, larger spaces for research, a special project room with supervised access to research space throughout the day, and an outdoor amphitheater for classes and guest lectures.