Combining schools and solar

by David Safier

This is the kind of thing I like to hear about — making it easier for schools to install solar power systems.

This should be happening on as much government property as possible here in Sunville. But the added benefit is, in schools renewable energy installations provide energy and education.

Here's the relevant part of a Gabrielle Giffords press release:

U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS INTRODUCES BILL TO EXPAND USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN SCHOOLS

TUCSON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today will announce introduction of legislation to make it more affordable for schools to install solar power systems.
 
Announcement of the bill, the Solar Schools Act, will come following a day-long tour that will highlight Tucson’s burgeoning solar industries, installations and research.
 
“School buildings are used most heavily during the day, during the same hours that solar energy generation is highest,” Giffords said. “Making it more cost-effective for schools to install solar-generating systems will lessen our dependence on foreign oil and save money for cash-strapped schools.”
 
Giffords, a member of the House Science and Technology Committee, is one of the leading solar proponents in Congress. Last year, she introduced the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, a bill that will increase solar funding to the U.S. Department of Energy and help focus research and development funding through a plan created by a private/public committee. The roadmap provision is modeled on the successful National (now International) Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, which has been instrumental in helping semiconductor technology advance rapidly over the past two decades
 
The Solar Technology Roadmap Act was approved by a bipartisan majority in the House in October.
 
In January, Giffords had nine solar panels installed on the roof of her Tucson home – a project that already has dramatically cut her electric bill.
 
The Solar Schools Act will make it more affordable for schools to install solar panels to reduce their electricity costs. A summary of the bill is attached.
 
Currently government institutions, such as school districts, can develop solar energy in one of two ways: through an agreement with a solar installer who maintains ownership of the panels and who can claim an investment tax credit, or by financing the purchase of the solar system through tax-exempt bonds.
 
If school districts were able to combine both approaches, financing a solar installation through tax exempt bonds and claiming the investment tax credit, it would make clean renewable energy much more affordable.
 
The Solar Schools Act would allow schools to use proceeds from tax-exempt bonds to enter into pre-paid contracts for renewable energy. Publically owned utilities already are granted just such an exemption to enter into similar contracting agreements. The Act would extend that exemption to local government entities.
 
The announcement will be made at La Cima Middle School, where a solar power system was installed in February 2008. The 54 panels in the system generate approximately 15,000 kilowatt hours per year – enough energy to power 1.5 average-size homes. This solar system saves burning seven tons of coal per year and prevents the release of 10 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
 
The system was paid for with the Tucson Electric Power Co. Green Watts program and is used as an educational resource to teach students and visitors about the importance of renewable energy.