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Solar Investments Stand to Yield Millions for Local School Children
Energy cost-savings can be re-invested in at-risk children.
Rey Fuentes and James Barba: March 29, 2013

On March 11, a small elementary school district in Salinas, California took a big leap forward: with a unanimous vote, the school board approved financing for the installation of solar panels on all thirteen of its schools.

What the Salinas school board recognizes -- and what many researchers have concluded -- is that structural investments in schools are investments in the students who reside in them; largely through reinvested savings in education and learning environments, we invest in human capital for the next generation.

In fact, given the current debate around proposed funding models for Proposition 39 (the ballot proposition that raised corporate tax revenue for energy-efficient school construction), the project in Salinas can help shed some light on what these investments could do for schools around the state.

A Plan That Works

With an initial investment of $7 million, proposed as a loan by Chevron Energy Solutions from Green Campus Partners LLC, the solar panel installation in Salinas is expected to produce about 1.6 million kilowatt-hours of energy in the first year. This amounts to nearly 70 percent of the elementary schools’ total energy consumption, or $300,000 in lower energy bills each year.

After balancing loan payments with energy rebates, credits, and savings from the California Solar Initiative, the school district is projected to pocket $12,000 to $50,000 in annual savings -- up to $1.1 million annually when the loan is repaid.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articl...chool-children