By Vince Teresi
The Mount Angel School District has implemented a cost-saving project for the operation of its schools, and the venture is likely to attract attention across the nation.
The district is utilizing the natural benefits of solar-energy to fuel school facilities, resulting in a significant cost-savings to the local community.
“We will be put on the map as the largest K-12 solar district in Oregon” when the project is completed next summer, Superintendent Troy Stoops said.
It’s not hard to miss the rows of solar panels behind Mount Angel Middle School, which are currently in operation. Kennedy High’s site is scheduled for completion later this year. The contractor for the project is Energy Wise Lighting of Albany, Ore. Peter Greenberg, who founded his business in 1993, is pleased with prospects for savings to the school district.
At the middle school site there are two units of solar energy sources, one at 100 Kwh, and the other at 250 Kwh. On the Kennedy High campus, there will be a 100 Kwh solar-energy unit with projected income/energy savings of $9,000 annually for the first 15 years. The school district will take ownership of the equipment at both school after 15 years.
During years 15-25, the district projects it will be locked into rates that will save it about $90,000 over 10 years.
In addition to the cost-savings, the study of energy production and history will be available to the students and the public via the district website. The solar project can be utilized as a teaching tool for the science curriculum at several levels of instruction.
Stoops is enthusiastic about the implementation of solar-energized schools and the cost-savings it will provide.
“It’s great to have such a valuable ‘green project’ right here in our back yards,” he said, “and it is a long-term investment for Mount Angel School District.”
Moreover, Stoops is excited about using the solar project as part of the school curriculum.
“Both of these solar projects can be monitored by students and staff and utilized as relevant ‘hands-on teaching tools.”
