SOLAR 2013: Schools Going Renewable!

We are continuously seeing school campuses across the nation installing renewables to help power their schools, while also educating the students. This year at SOLAR 2013 we had a forum of speakers who are working directly towards the goal of schools going renewable.

 Gabriella Martin of the J.L. Clean Energy Community Foundation in Chicago, gave us a presentation of the work that she does. Gabriella showed a variety of examples of the technologies that schools across the state of Illinois have adopted. This particular foundation uses a competitive grant cycle with a 2-phase application system for each school. The majority of these grants given are used for the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) K-12 Solar Schools Program. This program began in 2006 and is the largest of its kind in the US. Once a school is given a grant to install a wind turbine, solar panels, etc., the foundation works with them every step of the way and provides help in all aspects of the project. Ongoing support to the school is provided as well as workshops for the teachers to help them teach their students about renewable energy. For more information on the foundation please visit http://www.illinoissolarschools.org.

 Dr. Susan Stewart is the co-director of aerospace engineering and architectural engineering at the Penn State Wind Application Center and is with the Pennsylvania Wind for Schools Project. This is a project that strives to equip college juniors and seniors with wind energy applications, introduce younger children and communities to wind energy, and install small-scale wind farms and turbines. This project focuses on conducting feasibility studies for several schools a year in Pennsylvania and working with 3-5 selected host schools to raise the funding for a turbine. Dr. Stewart also emphasizes that engagement with the schools is so important, such as educating the teachers and providing workshops or tool kits to help the teachers and students better understand the wind energy technology. Dr. Stewart outlines the funding strategies for the project and also tells us about the exciting Pennsylvania Kidwind Challenge Program.

Remy Pangle is from the Virginia Center for Wind Energy at James Madison University and Wind for Schools in VA. Wind for Schools is a program that 11 states have adopted so far. This program is very similar to the one currently in Pennsylvania. Remy focuses on describing the challenges to installing renewable energy on school campuses. The project must be of reasonable cost to the school, an appropriate size for the campus, have the ability to be grid tied, proven safe, and include a 5-10 year warranty.

Giving schools the resources to go renewable can be extremely challenging, especially on a state-by-state basis. However, the work that these types of programs are doing for local schools and communities is very beneficial. Schools are saving large amounts of money on electricity per year, and the teachers and students are learning about renewable technologies.