Solar on Connecticut Schools: Why Not on Yours?
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Solar on Connecticut Schools Why not on yours? The purpose of this report is to encourage you, as a member of a school board, school administrator, or member of the public, to consider putting solar on (or next to) your school. Schools with solar save money on their electric bills, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and provide an onsite educational opportunity for their students. As Connecticut looks to meet its ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, solar energy has played a significant and rapidly growing role. Across the state, schools have shown clear leadership. At last count, over 100 schools have installed sizeable solar arrays on their rooftops, parking lots and land. Yet, these 100 schools represent less than 10% of the schools in the state, so the potential for further installations of clean energy is immense Nayaug Elementary, Glastonbury, CT With their typically substantial flat roofs, large parking lots and high electricity demand, schools are excellent candidates for solar installations. As the cost of solar panels and their installation plummets, schools have been able to reduce their electricity bills, shifting funds to their primary purpose: educating our youth. In fact, school solar arrays invariably work their way into the school curriculum, providing a powerful, tangible educational tool. Other CT Schools as a Resource Our report includes a list of over 100 Connecticut schools with solar arrays larger than 60 kW. In total, these arrays represent a combined installed capacity of over 17 megawatts, capable of producing over 20 million kWh per year. We created the list to help you find schools that have already installed solar. Such schools can be resources as you consider solar for your own school. For convenience, the list is presented in two ways, first in order of size of array and second, alphabetically by town. PACE_PLM Schools v6.docx 1 6/28/18 To create the list, we combined information from several sources: a list provided by the Green Bank, a 2017 list from The Solar Foundation, plus some additional arrays identified by other means. Although we have endeavored to identify all such installations, it is likely that some have been unintentionally omitted. We welcome input from readers about additional arrays to add to the list. As the graph below indicates, schools have been installing solar King/Robinson Magnet School, New Haven, CT arrays steadily, and at an increasing rate, since 2007 (i.e., the start of available data). Cumulative Solar Installed on CT Schools 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 Kilowats 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Year Installed Progress and Potential The number of schools shown here demonstrates that many Connecticut school boards and administrators have looked at solar as a source of electricity and decided it was in their school’s best interest to proceed. At least twelve districts put solar on one school and then felt favorably enough about their experience to do it again. Nine other districts went for multiple installations right from the start. Once a school district does the research, it often decides that solar is worth installing on more than one building. Many more districts can and should put solar on their roofs, over their parking lots, or next to their schools. One hundred is a large number of schools, but we still have a long way PACE_PLM Schools v6.docx 2 6/28/18 to go. According to a 2016 report, Connecticut Education and Schools, there are 1,174 public schools in Connecticut, so 100 schools represents just 8.5% of the total. We estimate that public schools alone have the potential for over 230 megawatts of installed capacity, versus 20 megawatts achieved to date. Moreover, since the cost of solar panels and installation has been declining steadily, it’s safe to say that a school deciding to install solar this year will pay less than any of the schools on this list (not counting state and federal incentives). As the graph below suggests, Connecticut schools have only begun to tap the potential of solar. Cumulative Solar Installed on CT Schools 250,000 Potential Actual 200,000 150,000 100,000 Kilowats 50,000 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Potential Year Installed How to Get a Solar Project Done Schools and municipalities are typically experienced in the practice of soliciting proposals and completing procurements from a wide range of vendors (e.g., building construction and upgrades, school buses). Because the solar industry is well- established in Connecticut, solar projects are no more complex than many of the projects schools are accustomed to doing and are simpler than many such projects. Moreover, because the economics of solar projects have become generally favorable, it is not difficult to find multiple vendors willing to provide proposals PACE_PLM Schools v6.docx 3 6/28/18 for any given project. In addition, there are a number of consultants with experience in solar projects willing to assist schools through this process. Here are a few considerations for a school district considering solar: 1. A good first step is to identify which schools in town are suitable for solar and what the potential installed capacity is. Solar contractors are skilled at preparing detailed estimates of the potential of a school roof, parking lot and available land. We recommend having several different vendors conduct this initial survey. 2. Integral to the process of considering solar should be assessing opportunities for using less energy. As the saying goes, “Reduce then Reed Intermediate School, Newtown, CT produce”. Adding insulation, improving windows, upgrading HVAC components to make them more efficient, and switching to LED bulbs are some obvious steps to study. The Green Bank and your local utility may have programs that facilitate this process. Typically, HVAC vendors are excellent sources of information on these incentive programs. After you have the results of an energy assessment, consider using the standards found in The Collaborative for High Performance Schools initiative. 3. Know the difference between a power purchase agreement (PPA) and owning your system. With a PPA, the Green Bank or another entity owns the system, can take advantage of tax incentive not directly available to a school district, and passes on the value of those incentives in the rates rate they charge the school for the output of the solar array. The owning entity also will take care of construction, monitoring, and maintenance of the system. If a school district chooses to own the system, the district will have more responsibilities, but may save more on the cost of electricity. 4. If a district decides to own its system, the district should hire a consultant who has experience specifically with school solar projects. A solar consultant without school PACE_PLM Schools v6.docx 4 6/28/18 experience may not be familiar with the special issues of grants, bonding, legal considerations, construction and construction management when a public school is involved. The next step is to prioritize your school solar projects, select the one(s) you want to carry out and solicit multiple proposals for each. A few suggestions for this process: • Get a mix of quotes, if possible from both smaller and larger companies. • Checking references is essential and talk to other towns who have done projects. (We can help to put you in touch.) • Service is important; the lowest bidder may not be the best. • Compare several equipment options (e.g., different panels, inverters) For a detailed How-To guide for schools that want to go solar, download The Solar Foundation’s November 2017 report, Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (see page 34). Conard High School, West Hartford, CT PACE_PLM Schools v6.docx 5 6/28/18 Notes on the solar project list 1. We have provided satellite photos from Google Maps of solar arrays when available, but some systems installed since 2015 are too recent to appear. Some recent installations have no image in Google Maps, but do show up in Google Earth. 2. The list is provided in two forms below: A. sorted by size of array (in kilowatts) and B. sorted alphabetically by town. If you would like the tables in Excel or Word, just let us know. We were interested in significant solar installations and so somewhat arbitrarily included only schools with at least a 60 kw array. You can find systems as small as 1 kw in the Green Bank and Solar Foundation lists. 3. We have attached the Green Bank spreadsheet and you can download the entire Solar Foundation list by clicking here and then going to the ‘Download the Complete Dataset’ option. These lists of Connecticut schools are similar, but not identical, and they each provide more information about individual schools than we have, such as the name of the contractor and financial data. 4. Multiple schools are sometimes condensed into a single row. This can be because the information about individual schools was not available or that a town’s schools are being credited with the output of a remote solar array via virtual net metering (VNM), for example in Stafford. VNM affects the list in another way. If a town has no solar panels on a school, but the school is being credited with the output of a remote solar array, then the school does not appear on the list. About 25 towns in CT participate in the VNM program. Identifying schools that fall into this category, such as two schools in Woodstock, will have to wait for another study.