Seven Steps to Solar Schools
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Is there a Champion in the House? Someone or some group has to be willing to put this issue before the school community and stick with it. It can be an uneven process and will have its ups and downs. It will succeed or fail depending on the commitment and consistency of the “champion(s)". |
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Build and educate your team You need allies. It’s important to build a team – some of whom will meet regularly to review energy issues within the district and others who can provide their support at critical points in the project’s development. Learn the benefits and costs associated with reducing the district’s energy consumption and moving to solar electricity generation. |
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Benchmark your district’s energy use Even if the solar project looks like it will take awhile, it is relatively easy and inexpensive to have the district's energy use benchmarked. Benchmarking has a variety of benefits that include providing a regular report on the amount and cost of the energy consumed in the district. |
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Assess your district’s schools for renewable energy generation Determine which of the district’s schools and facilities are good candidates for solar (orientation, roof type and age, etc.). From that, the cost of the PV, its generation potential, and savings can be determined for all district structures and ground area (parking lots, open spaces). |
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Develop a financing strategy Steps 1- 4 are preliminary and will lay the ground work for determining the district’s ideal PV sites, its estimated costs and estimated savings. Identifying financing options moves the district toward making a determination if the project will benefit the district. It is most often the actual tipping point for district decision-makers who will decide to go forward or not based on the estimated costs and savings. |
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Create a Request for Proposals and select a solar vendor Once a district has decided to pursue a solar project it should always seek a variety of bids on the project. Creating an RFP that will address all the major issues involved in this type of project and then vetting responses is critical to assuring that the district gets the best deal possible. |
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Monitor your systems and educate your users Making sure that your system is running smoothly and that it is being constantly monitored is the key to making sure that the project performs as promised. The system should also have a public interface so that the community can be aware of the system and its benefits. This can also extend to use in the classroom as an element in the education process. |
