Overview: Seven Steps to Solar Schools

Anyone who has an interest in reducing the amount and cost of the energy used in our public schools will find the Seven Steps to Solar Schools a useful guide.

Solar projects – like all school district construction projects – can be filled with details that can seem daunting at first, but are resolvable and worth the time and effort you will invest in making solar schools in your district a reality. If you read the materials related to the the development of a Solar Master Plan, they will give you a good overall view of what it takes to get your district to go solar.

Remember, too, that school districts may have mixed feelings toward renewable energy projects and so may not share your enthusiasm – at least at first - so don’t get discouraged if they don’t embrace the idea right away. In 2011, California school districts are struggling with reduced budgets, teacher layoffs and program reductions, so it can be difficult to get them to focus on anything else – even if there’s a likelihood that the district’s financial situation will be improved by installing renewable energy systems. They will come around if you help them – we can just about guarantee it!

It is not necessary to execute the Seven Steps to Solar Schools in chronological order. You’ll find that some of the steps take place concurrently. Occasionally, a step will be skipped, especially when a short-lived financing opportunity comes along that requires a project to be fast-tracked – as was the case in 2009-2010 when the federal government offered 0% interest bonds to help fuel school construction projects. Nevertheless, we have laid out the process that most districts will follow as they consider and implement district-wide energy projects.

Read more about Seven Steps to Solar Schools.