Willow Glen Resident
Education
San Jose Unified School District will flex is power and go solar
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
San Jose Unified School District has moved past thinking green and has taken the next step with the installation of solar systems at four high schools--San Jose Academy, Gunderson, Pioneer and Leland.
Willow Glen and Lincoln will be next in line after the first four are completed.
"For all of us sun worshippers, today is a great day," said district board president Jorge Gonzalez at the July 25 press conference at Gunderson High School. "It gives me great pride and satisfaction that through our partnerships, we will be able to harness the energy from the sun. This will provide a concrete way to teach students about renewable energy and will give us a weapon to fight global warming."
Through collaboration among the district, Chevron Energy Solutions, part of Chevron Corporation, and Bank of America, San Jose Unified has established itself as the largest K-12 solar power and energy-efficiency program in the United States.
According to district manager of school construction Ty Williams, the project will be broken down into two phases. The first phase will provide two megawatts of solar power to the first four schools.
Gunderson and San Jose High Academy will have solar panels installed on their roofs and on the shade canopies in the parking lot. Pioneer and Leland will have solar panels installed on shade canopies in the parking lot only.
Gunderson and San Jose High Academy were perfect candidates for the roof panels because the schools have large, flat concrete and steel roofs that can hold up under the weight of several solar panels.
Those installations are scheduled for mid-August, and completion is tentatively set for early 2008.
The second phase will provide three megawatts of solar energy and tentatively include Willow Glen and Lincoln high schools, Castillero and John Muir middle schools, and Allen Elementary at Steinbeck, Williams said.
By adding solar power to these schools first, the district will be able to receive the maximum financial incentives from PG&E.
According to district spokeswoman Karen Fuqua, financial incentives are scheduled to decrease in the future.
"We were able to save $4.2 million through incentives by going with the larger and easier project," Fuqua said. "It's nice to be on the cutting edge but also bring everything back to the kids."
The district began developing the program in March 2006. It was approved at the July 12 board meeting.
As part of the project, Chevron Energy Solutions will build and maintain the solar panels on the high schools' rooftops. Along with the solar systems, the energy company will also install thermostats and fluorescent bulbs.
Bank of America will finance the project, as well as sell the power generated by the solar panels back to the district at a significantly discounted rate.
According to district officials, the project, once completed, will generate a total of five megawatts of solar power and save the district approximately $25 million over the next 25 years.
"We are very proud to be part of this," said Bank of America president Janet Lamkin. "San Jose is the capital of Silicon Valley. It has been the epicenter of many exciting and some even revolutionary movements. And now this is taking place in no less than a school environment. It will allow our students and community to learn the importance of our role in our environment."
