Written by Sustainable Lafayette, based on interviews with Fred Brill (Superintendent), Stephanie Teichman (School Board), and Bruce Wodhams (Principal of Springhill Elementary).
Challenge
Back in February 2007, a couple of Springhill parents (including Leon Lee) had the simple urge to "leave some sort of legacy". They thought that figuring out how to get solar panels installed at Springhill would be a positive, lasting contribution to the school. Bruce Wodhams, principal at Springhill Elementary, was intrigued enough to start meeting with them. It was certainly an appealing idea, but there was the obvious issue of how to pay for it.
After a lot of discussion at Springhill, Bruce decided to bring the idea to the school district. As expected, there was some initial skepticism. Is this another one of those initiatives that's good for the environment, and we'd all like to do, but will require funds that we don't have. The overriding priority for the district was, and still is, how to save money (not spend it) and preserve teaching positions, programs and the great education that Lafayette is famous for. And wouldn't solar panels for a school campus or district be really expensive?
Solution Details
Everyone’s view brightened when they learned about solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) where a solar company installs solar panels on your roof, which they own, and then sells you the electricity from it. With a PPA the school district could enter into a contract to buy electricity from their school roofs, at a lower cost than PG&E, and with no upfront cost. That sounded like a no-brainer! The School Board saw the opportunity to lower their substantial energy bill and reduce their environmental impact. Stephanie Teichman, school board president at the time, took the lead on the project. She initially invited three or four different companies to come present at a school board meeting, and then other firms heard about it and wanted to bid as well. “This kicked off a year of due-diligence to learn about the pros and cons of different solar energy integrators and the programs and financing options available from each,” said Stephanie.
In June of 2008, the school district signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Solar Monkey, to install solar power systems on four of five schools in the district: Burton Valley, Springhill, Lafayette Elementary, and Stanley Middle School. Stephanie explained the decision: “We were impressed with their experience working with school districts, shared interest in the educational component, and they were very, very responsive. On top of that the unique structure of this PPA allows us the option to buy the system outright after 7, 12, or 15 years at a price that would be lower than what it would cost to install the system.”
During the process, Solar Monkey partnered with Tioga Energy to provide the PPA for two of the four schools. The systems at Burton Valley and Stanley Middle School (131 kW each) are provided through PPAs from Tioga Energy with Solar Monkey as project developer and integration partner. The systems at Lafayette and Springhill Elementary (76 kW and 100 kW) are provided through PPAs directly from Solar Monkey. All of the systems were installed during the 2008-2009 school year and total 438 kW of solar capacity. That means in the middle of the summer on a sunny day, the combined system produces 438 thousand watts of electricity, which is equivalent to about 125 residential solar systems, and could power over 4,000 hundred-watt light bulbs or almost 30,000 CFL bulbs. This is by far the largest source of renewable energy in the City of Lafayette and adds to all the electricity being generated from residential solar systems.
The Lafayette School District has been one of the top district's in the state for providing an excellent education and now is one of the first 20 school districts (out of 1000 districts in the state) to implement solar!
Benefits & Payback
All four rooftop installations combined will reduce the amount of electricity the District must purchase from PG&E by an estimated 40-60 percent and reduce the district's overall electricity bill by about 20%, saving roughly $500K over the next 10 years.
Fred Bill, the Superintendent of the Lafayette School District, is one of the most excited about the new system. “Beyond the tremendous cost savings, the new solar system becomes part of our educational environment and gives us a great new tool for teaching kids about science and solar energy in particular. When they see the panels it naturally raises their curiosity and leads to learning opportunities.”
Of course the project started as a way to be environmentally responsible, and the new solar system delivers on that front as well, reducing CO2 emissions by roughly 800,000 pounds per year. This is equivalent to taking about 70 cars in Lafayette off the road for the entire year (800K miles of driving).
Informational Links
Solar Monkey - Solar Monkey specializes in providing grid-tied solar power solutions for commercial and industrial property owners and public entities
Tioga Energy - Tioga Energy accelerates access to clean energy through long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) for renewable energy.
Business Week Article - Published Dec. 7th, 2009 on the day of the "Flipping the Switch" ceremony.
Schott Solar - Manufacturer of 175 watt panels used at Burton Valley and Stanley Middle School.
Scheuco - Manufacturer of 210 watt panels used at Springhill and Lafayette Elementary.
