Solar energy is hardly new. The Ancient Greeks unlocked the secrets of turning the sun’s glints into mechanical power, using burning mirrors to light torches for their religious rites. Sunrooms on houses and public buildings were so common around 600 BC that Byzantine emperor Justinian initiated “sun rights” to ensure individual access to the golden orb.
Solar schools are the new economic trailblazers, with savings in the past decade equivalent to 50 million gallons of gas a year or taking nearly 100,000 cars off our highways, claims the country’s first report on how sun power is empowering America’s educational facilities. New York’s growing solar energy industry, including 425 companies and 5,000 employees statewide, has installed solar systems on 160 schools, generating 7,316 kilowatts of clean, reliable, and affordable electricity, and ranking them in the top 10 nationally in installed capacity, reports “Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools ” by the Solar Foundation.
Today there are five times as many solar schools than in 2008, and fewer costs meaning more cash for textbooks and teacher salaries, claims the study prepared in conjunction with Solar Energy Industries Association and the U.S. Department of Energy. Solarizing New York’s kindergarten through 12th grade buildings could also save the Big Apple up to $209 million more than 30 years, while more than 70,000 additional schools would benefit similarly, add the authors.
“Solar is enabling many New York schools to save money, enrich learning and keep teachers in the classroom, all while providing local jobs and generating emissions-free electricity,” said Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of the Solar Foundation. “It is clear that the solar schools movement is gaining momentum and providing kids with the greatest benefits.”
Key findings include:
• America’s K-12 schools have shown “explosive growth” in their use of solar energy over the last decade, soaring from 303 to 457,000 kilowatts of installed capacity and reducing carbon emissions by 442,799 metric tons annually.
• There are 3,752 K-12 schools in the U.S. with solar installations, meaning nearly 2.7 million students attend schools with solar energy systems.
• More than 3,000 of the 3,752 systems were installed in the last six years.
• Of the 125,000 schools in the country, between 40,000 and 72,000 can “go solar” cost-effectively.
An analysis performed for the report found that 35 other school districts across the state could each save more than $1 million more than 30 years by installing solar panels, stated the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“In fact, seven of those districts — Yonkers, NYC Special Schools, Brentwood Union, New Rochelle, Sachem Central, Mount Vernon, and Middle Country Central — could each save between $2 million and $6 million,” said president and chief executive officer Rhone Resch. “In a time of tight budgets and rising costs, solar can be the difference between hiring new teachers or laying them off.”
