The article I selected was taken from http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2010/04/23/20100423higley-schools-solar-panels-0424.html.
This article deals with the local level of government planning for sustainability. Higley Unifed School District approved an agreement with a solar company to help reduce energy costs by installing solar panels on school rooftops. The agreement would reduce the energy costs of the school district from one third to one half, (6 cents per kilowatt hour as opposed to 9.5-11 cents/kwh). The school district is expected to save up to two million dollars annually on energy costs with these solar panels in place, the solar panel company (Sundial Arizona) believes that the savings will exceed two million annually. This will keep the schools with solar panels from spending money on energy bills (as the panels will produce more than the schools are projected to use), SRP will buy additional energy produced by the schools, and this will all be done using a free resource that is never in short supply in Arizona, sunlight. It will also free up liquid capital that schools in Arizona desperately need for other programs.
This issue could easily be addressed at the state level, giving grants to schools to help pay for this sort of project for all public schools. The biggest problem for this sort of solution would be the initial cost of the solar panels (not stated in the article), as installation and repairs have a 25 year warranty. There would definitely be an improved environmental quality for Arizona if this was implemented state-wide. Using clean solar energy for schools would certainly have an impact on the state level. If civilians and other agencies noticed the vast annual savings that is produced by solar energy, it is likely that they too would enroll in similar programs. Again, the initial cost of such programs are probably likely to deter enrollment, however, there would certainly be huge financial savings in the long run.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Benjamin,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea to install solar panel on the high school rooftops. In aspect of Three Es–environment, economy, and equity introduced by Wheeler (2004), solar energy is perfectly suit for sustainability development. Solar energy is widely hoped to be developed as an alternative to fossil fuels. Solar energy is environmental friendly energy and is expected to save lots of money, as you mentioned that 2million dollars could be saved in a year. Moreover, solar energy is renewable energy, thus the problem of common tragedy would not occur in this case. The only problem is the initial cost to install the panel, but I hope the district find a good way to enact this plan.
There is a huge advertising campaign in Arizona right now pushing solar panels for residential homes. While you might think that it is a no-brainer, the panels come with a 15year lease which is a scary prospect for most homeowners but the deal includes no up front cost for the hardware. Not many people seem to be able to stay in their homes for decades anymore because of the need to move for employment. Solar panels on schools make much more sense in the short term while the solar technology industry works to develop cheaper equipment. We know that schools will be around for the lifetime of a photo-voltaic system and they use a great amount of energy so I am confused at why this has not been pushed further. There is a proposition on the ballot for an increase in tax to support schools but I am more in favor of using our money to install capital improvements like this proposal.
ReplyDelete