Solar Energy Goes to School

What goes to school everyday regardless of how it’s feeling or whether its homework is completed? The sun!

Across the US, hundreds of schools  have begun taking a keen interest in the role that the sun plays in creating clean electricity. Beginning in the early 1990s, educational facilities began installing solar electric photovoltaic (PV) systems on their roofs. In doing so, they have become community showcases for the technology. School administrators and teachers are increasingly eager to learn how solar energy systems operate and the impact they have in addressing climate change, reducing reliance on centralized fossil fuel power stations, and helping students learn about renewable energy.

Mike Spitze (in hat) of Solar Works, leading a group of students in installing a PV system at Green Mountain College in Vermont.

According to Vicki Mastaitis of the Interstate Renewable Energy Coalition, over 400 schools in the US now have PV systems on their buildings. The typical grid-tied PV system is one or two kilowatts (kW). Functioning primarily as demonstration systems, these arrays produce between four to eight kilowatt-hours daily; enough power to run ten computers and printers. In a few instances, schools have installed PV systems as large as 100 kW, which make a more significant contribution to reducing the building’s overall electric load.

With increasing frequency, organizations such as the Florida Solar Energy Center, the US Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Science Teachers Association are developing instructional resource materials and holding conferences on solar energy. Utilities in 25 states now sponsor some sort of Solar on School program and state energy offices in growing numbers are issuing RFP’s for Solar Schools Programs. Such solicitations are geared towards (as a recent RFP from RI stated) "raising visibility and acceptability of renewable energy and to help create a sustained demand for renewables."

What is Driving the Increased Interest?
First, as Thomas Benson, president of Green Mountain College in Vermont, recently noted about the school’s new PV system, "The solar panels provide an exciting demonstration for the campus community of the power of cutting edge technology—and a reminder of the importance of practicing what we teach at an environmental liberal arts college." More schools are electing to install PV systems as an expression of their commitment to a sustainable energy future.

Second, renewable energy firms, utilities, and state energy offices have come to understand and appreciate the market transforming ability of school-hosted PV systems. As laboratories for learning and natural gathering centers for the community, schools are an excellent venue to demonstrate the viability of solar technologies. As Leigh Seddon, president of Solar Works, points out, "By educating students about renewable energy, we are informing their parents as well as the greater community about the benefits of clean electricity." In essence, an expanded market for PV is being created when students have an opportunity to learn about solar energy. There are few community facilities that have greater visibility and public legitimacy to showcase PV than a school.

2 kW PV system at Kenmett High School, Conway, NH

Third, concern over American competency in the sciences is providing a unique opportunity for PV. The high-tech features of PV systems fit well with the growing importance that applied sciences receive in a school’s life. PV systems offer an excellent means to study first-hand how electricity is produced, where energy comes from, and the physics, math, and public policies supporting an energy grid. Especially for vocational institutes, science centers, and private institutions, a PV system demonstrates their leadership in the sciences.

Finally, the increasingly sophisticated and expanding field of environmental education has been a boon to the acceptance of school-based PV systems. As the term "sustainability" gains currency, more and more educators are looking to provide hands-on learning opportunities for their students. An even larger number of teachers and administrators are seeking to adopt "green" building products and services that conserve resources.

Getting the PV onto the Roof
A wide range of companies, including Green Mountain Energy and Solar Works, Inc. are supporting solar on school initiatives across the US. Each has discovered that there are a myriad of issues involved in fielding a school-based PV system.

We at Solar Works, Inc. embarked on our own Solar on Schools Program in late 1998 with the installation of a 2 kW system at Woonsocket High School in Rhode Island. During the past three years, we have installed 30 grid-tied PV systems in six states, including VT, NH, CA, MA, and CT. Key to the success of our efforts has been the financial and organizational support of such organizations as Green Mountain Energy, NESEA, Northeast Utilities, Paul Newman’s Foundation, and the New Hampshire Governor’s Office of Energy and Community Services.

2 kW PV system at the New Hampshire Technical Institute, Concord, NH

Our typical system is a utility-tied one or two kW array that is connected directly to the building’s electrical load center. In some cases, the PV array has been hard-wired into the school store or science lab, so that the students can more clearly see the impact of the system. Solar Works provides a complete turnkey package that includes UL-listed equipment, an interactive data monitoring unit, educational resource materials, interconnection support, and hands-on teacher training. In addition, we maintain an on-going relationship with the school to ensure that the system is fully utilized.

One of the frequent criticisms of putting solar energy systems on schools is that, "several years down the road, no one will recall what those interesting looking glass panels on the roof are." Our experience suggests that there is some merit to this concern, given personnel turnover in schools. However, if the systems integrator makes a genuine commitment to work with the school over multiple years, the lasting educational value of the PV system can be extensive.

What this requires is for the systems integrator to help the school integrate the PV system into its classes as a teaching tool. One of the most productive ways we have found for doing this is making the data-monitoring unit easily accessible and useful to as many students as possible. The data monitoring system that we installed as part of a six kW PV array at the University of Vermont tracks the PV array’s current, daily, and cumulative output performance. The data is displayed live on the internet (www.uvm.edu/~solar/) so that schools across the country can take part in the unique curriculum that has been designed for monitoring the system.

Ingredients to Initiating a Successful Project at a School:
Based on our experience, here are some guidelines to increase the likely success of your project.
a.  Locate a champion—usually a teacher—who enthusiastically supports the introduction of a solar electric system. That person must be willing to facilitate the installation; advocate for funding, recruit fellow teachers, and devote the time necessary to engage the broader community.
b.  Enlist the support of the building facilities manager, without whose support the installation and long-term servicing of the system can get complicated. Involve the facilities manager in the process early on, so that he or she genuinely feels instrumental in having the system installed. This encourages a sense of pride, which ensures that the system will be maintained.
c.  Help the school identify a source(s) of supplemental funding for the project—be it from a utility, state energy office, community foundation or private company-- which sees renewable energy as a key factor in improving community. Few schools will be able to pay for a system on their own.
d.  Present the system as a demonstration project, rather than as an economic means for reducing energy consumption. Skeptics may challenge the expenditure of tax dollars if the PV system is presented as anything but a pilot project designed to prove the technical and environmental benefits of renewable energy systems.
e.  Offer the school a wide range of age appropriate hands-on, interactive learning resources. Most schools don’t require a stand-alone curriculum on solar energy. They benefit instead from field exercises, experiments, and activities that can support pre-existing lesson plans in physics, earth science, social studies, and engineering related courses.
f.  Create a mentoring arrangement or network of solar schools wherein a high school would, for example, mentor students in a junior high that does not have its own PV system.  
g.  Work with local utilities and building inspectors and be prepared to complete engineering analyses to determine weight and wind load concerns.
h.  Stay involved with the school over the longer-term by participating in science fairs, assemblies, and teacher training workshops, and by offering internships.

Every week, we receive calls from teachers expressing interest in having a PV system installed on their buildings. Most require funding and some support in approaching their administration. With a bit of hard work, such calls can be translated into newly commissioned systems that offer great learning opportunities for students and an expanded market for residential and commercial PV.

**This article, Solar Energy Goes to School, appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of NESEA’s magazine, the Northeast Sun. It was written by Richard Eidlin who is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Solar Works, Inc (www.solar-works.com). He is based in Wilton, New Hampshire.