From the Goldendale Sentinel July 4, 2012 | Vol. 133, No. 27 | View PDF
http://www.goldendalesentinel.com/cgi-bin/start.cgi/cms/story.html?id=1017
As summer begins, so does the construction of a solar system at the Glenwood School that will provide a hands on laboratory for students to learn about solar energy and renewable technologies. The project is facilitated by the Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS) and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) Solar 4R Schools™ program.
“This new partnership with MARS and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation will provide a whole new level of learning experiences for our students regarding renewable energy,” said Glenwood Superintendent Dr. Shane Couch.
Over the course of the summer a 5.76 kilowatt photovoltaic system comprised of (24) Canadian Solar CS6P-240M Modules and a Power One Aurora PVI5000 Inverter will be installed at the school. This project is the first of its type, sponsored by BEF, in Southwest Washington.
The system is projected to produce about 7,500 kilowatts of energy per year, which is enough to offset about 75 percent of the energy use of the average American household and could power an energy efficient home. The total cost of the grant toGlenwood School—including the PV system, the structure the system will be installed on, the date monitoring, renewable energy classroom science kit, web page, and BEF’s staff time and travel—is about $65,000.
“I’m excited about the Solar 4R Schools system and the hands-on experience it will provide for our students,” says GlenwoodCTE Teacher Tom Anderson. “The monitoring equipment will allow real-time analysis, and the ability to compare performance with systems installed at other schools throughout the country.”
“The Mt. Adams region has an abundance of sun, water and forests, all of which can be captured to help displace imports of fossil fuels in ways that don’t harm a place we care deeply about,” says MARS Executive Director Jay McLaughlin. “We are excited by the opportunity to work with these partners to engage our youth in a deeper understanding of what we can produce from energy resources we have available to us in our own communities.”
Mt. Adams Resource Stewards, established in 2003, represents a grassroots effort to address issues dealing with sustainability of rural communities in what is commonly called “Mt. Adams Country.” Central to their work is the mission to promote sustainable connections between the land, local economies, and rural communities in the Mt. Adams Region.
Solar 4R Schools, developed and managed by BEF, fosters knowledge about renewable energy by delivering hands-on experience with solar-electric systems to schools and communities throughout the United States. The most comprehensive solar schools program in the country, Solar 4R Schools provide educational materials and real-time data monitoring and has installed solar electric systems at more than 150 schools nationwide. BEF supports this program and other renewable energy and watershed restoration projects with revenues generated by the sale of renewable energy certificates, carbon offsets, water restoration certificates, and through direct partnerships with sustainability focused funding partners. Visit www.b-e-f.org for more information.
Here at Hire Electric we’re very excited to have beat out the Portland competition to receive the installation award of this project. This is our first time working with B-E-F and our first project in Glenwood. Engineered drawings of the solar structure from SunStorage in Joseph Oregon are being submitted to the county today and we hope to begin work in 2 weeks.
