Solar panels on schools in California
California is making some serious progress with respect to its solar energy goals! This week, news that five California schools will go solar in the Huntington Beach School District in Southern California was announced. The 618-kilowatt (kW) solar panel system will provide 1/3 of the school district’s energy needs through clean, renewable solar power.
The Huntington Beach School District partnered with Chevron Energy Solutions to install solar panels at three elementary schools and two middle schools in the district. Installation will take place in 2011, with Chevron Solutions operating and maintaining the solar panel system throughout the 15-year contract term.
Solar is a smart investment for the California school district – even considering the cost of the installation, the district will save over $15 million in electricity costs. What great lessons for the students, parents and teachers… math, science and social studies combining to show the possibilities of solar power to save money and the environment.
Tags: chevron energy solutions, huntington beach school district, school solar power, solar panels schools, solar powered schools, solar schools
This is an excellent scheme – teaching children about the benefits of renewable energy right on their doorstep.
Unfortunately, according to everything I have read, the district expects to only save about $75,000 per year. That looks like a big number, but if you take in to account the $8,000,000 it will cost for the installation, this project will break even in about 106 years and 6 months. How can this be considered a smart decision by any measurement? I’m pretty sure that if I worked somewhere and decided to spend a HUGE sum of money that wouldn’t start to show a return on investment for over 100 years I wouldn’t have that job much longer. I don’t see this as such an excellent scheme at all. Perhaps someone could enlighten me?
Fantastic! Schemes like this have so many benefits – solar energy is great not only for the environment, but the children can learn a lot as well and can really get hands on which makes learning to care for the planet so much more interesting. California’s an ideal place to install solar panels too, all those lovely long sunny days!
It about time more public buildings are converted to greener technologies. I have been trying to get are local school to invest in new technologies.
At a time where governments are looking for ways to cut expenditure and create jobs, a move like this to add Solar Panels to the roofs of public buildings must be seen as a postive move. This though should be adopted by other councils and governments as the money publilc buildings could save by being powered by renewable energy could help to keep people in jobs and even help to create jobs.
What a good idea, maybe all governments should think of this type of thing. there has just been a change to the UK building regulations to state that any large building which is due to be commissioned or is due for refurbishment in London must have a renewable energy source as part of its method of generating energy. the prefered method at present would be solar panels.