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School looking to go 'green' |
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Friday, 30 November 2007 |
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By Debbie Murphy
Register Correspondent 11-29-2007
The concept of “green” will take on different definitions at a special meeting of the Bishop Union Elementary School District Board of Directors: “green” as in energy conservation and “green” as in saving money.
The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. in the Bishop Activity Center, will be an opportunity for the community to comment on proposals for solar panels to provide electricity for Elm and Pine Street schools at anestimated cost savings of up to $678,000 over a 15-year period. The downside, depending on which of the two is selected, would be the loss of playground space in the northwest corner of the campus.
“We’re not doing this without input,” said district Superintendent Barry Simpson. “We want people to have the opportunity to give us that input.”
In the process of exploring going solar, Midge Milici, the district’s chief business officer, realized the cost of installing a system would be prohibitive. With the host program under consideration, the district would provide the space and SunTechnics, a Sacramento-based firm, would provide the materials – at no cost to the “host.” SunTechnics then becomes the energy provider with the district paying for the electricity it consumes. Any excess goes back into the grid.
The board will be looking at either a roof- or ground-mount system. Estimated savings over 15 years for the roof system are $180,000, significantly lower than the alternative because of the high cost of installation and maintenance. In addition, the ground system panels oscillate, collecting sun for longer periods of time each day. The ground system would save about $22,000 in its first year of operation. With caps on annual increases, savings would go up each year relative to Southern California Edison charges. The pattern of inflation under Edison is around 5.4 percent; with the SunTechnics proposal, annual increases are capped at 4 percent for the roof mount and 3 percent for the ground mount system.
According to the proposal, the ground system would cover approximately an acre of space, the width of the playground east to west and 175 feet from the north fence. “We’d still have enough playground space for our students,” said Simpson. “But those fields are also used by local youth sport groups.”
Two factors make the decision particularly timely. First, SunTechnics is currently involved in a statewide contract to install a roof-mounted solar system for a major local business, according to Milici, making the district’s project more attractive to the company. In addition, Edison provides rebates on the cost of installation for system builders. “There’s a trend toward lowering those incentives,” said Milici. “That’s why it would be good to do the project now or the incentives could go down below the point where SunTechnics would be willing to come to Bishop.”
Home Street Middle School is not involved in the solar project simply because it sits on Los Angeles Department of Water and Power turf. DWP is exploring a solar incentive program, according to Milici, but does not currently provide one.
“This is as much an educational effort as a cost-saving one. What a great science lesson,” said Milici. “I was really impressed with the numbers. Either system, over 25 years, would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of more than 30 million miles not driven or planting over 168 acres of trees. We hope this can be a step for the school to be a good neighbor and teach the kids about conservation by example.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 January 2008 )
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