CALIFORNIA DREAMING: GREEN SCHOOLS ON THE MOVE

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A crop of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects are proliferating at school districts around California. Fueled by government and utility incentives and deals with solar companies that allow for no cash outlay, school districts are not only lowering their carbon footprints, they are saving money – hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. And as more and more school business administrators are become aware, the savings can be applied to their general funds. The Green Schools Program trains students to use a diagnostic toolkit that assesses the energy use in their schools. This has the effect, says the Alliance on its website, of turning the school into a learning laboratory where students can apply science, math and other subjects to save energy at their schools. They work with their schools to suggest changes in operations, maintenance and to help influence individual behavior among teachers, staff and other students. The program is active in California and several other states. Energy is an enormous expense, costing schools nationally $6 billion each year, and much of the energy that is consumed is wasted. In many schools, energy costs are second only to personnel costs, exceeding the cost of textbooks and supplies.

Lodi to Sell Power Back to the Grid

Two high schools and a middle school in the Lodi Unified School District in Lodi, California, will be powered by solar energy projects that will produce some 2 megawatts of power, enough to provide 100 percent of the power for each school with enough left over to sell back to the power grid.. In the $10 million project, the panels will be installed as solar car ports in the schools’ parking lots, offering an additional benefit of shade for parked cars.  

In addition, solar panels at the District office, and others at Lodi High School, will generate another 400 kilowatts of solar power. According to assistant superintendent of facilities and Maintenance Art Hand, a conservative estimate is that the installations will generate $180,000 a year in savings, much of which will go back to the district’s general fund.