Solar power at US schools surges, growing fourfold over the last decade

Since 2014, photo voltaic capability at Ok-12 faculties has greater than quadrupled throughout the US, in response to a brand new report from clear vitality nonprofit Generation180.

The “Brighter Future: A Research of Photo voltaic on Ok-12 Faculties” report highlights that over 6.2 million college students – greater than 1 in 9 – now attend faculties powered by photo voltaic. In 2023 alone, greater than 800 faculties added photo voltaic panels, which means that no less than one faculty went photo voltaic each single day through the 2022-23 faculty 12 months.

“The advantages of photo voltaic vitality at the moment are reaching a broad vary of colleges throughout the nation, together with these in under-resourced communities that stand to realize essentially the most from the associated fee financial savings and academic alternatives that photo voltaic know-how supplies. We wish all faculties and communities, no matter their dimension, geography, or wealth, to have entry to reasonably priced, clear vitality,” says Tish Tablan, the report’s lead writer and senior director of Generation180’s Electrify Our Faculties Program.

Most of those faculties are funding their photo voltaic tasks by third-party possession fashions, making it simpler to bypass the hurdle of upfront prices. The Inflation Discount Act has additionally made it extra reasonably priced for faculties to deploy clear vitality by providing tax credit, paid as money reimbursements, for panels, battery storage, and different clear applied sciences.

Some standout findings from the “Brighter Future” report embrace:

• Ok-12 faculties throughout the nation now generate 1,814 megawatts (MW) of solar energy – sufficient to energy over 330,000 households or all the metropolis of Denver.
• The highest states main the cost in class photo voltaic capability are California, New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
• States like Minnesota, Maryland, and Pennsylvania are innovating with state-funded grants to assist faculties undertake solar energy.

Past simply chopping vitality payments, faculties with photo voltaic are investing financial savings again into college students and communities. For instance, Wayne County Public Faculties in West Virginia, a area traditionally depending on coal, plans to put in 10,000 photo voltaic panels throughout all its faculties by 2025. They’re additionally providing apprenticeships to highschool college students, giving them hands-on expertise in putting in photo voltaic panels on their very own campuses.

Pairing photo voltaic with battery storage is one other development that helps faculties increase local weather resilience. Round 40 faculties in six states have added battery storage to handle their vitality use and supply backup energy. California, with its long-running storage incentive program, leads the best way, with 75% of those battery tasks.

Faculties are additionally becoming a member of group photo voltaic tasks that reach advantages past their campuses. In Denver, as an example, photo voltaic canopies at faculties aren’t solely powering the buildings but in addition offering reasonably priced, clear electrical energy to low-income households within the space. This collaboration between the Metropolis of Denver and Denver Public Faculties is presently serving to 44 native households save an estimated 64% on their family electrical energy payments.

“Whereas it’s thrilling to see the expansion in photo voltaic adoption, too many colleges are nonetheless lacking out on the numerous advantages that photo voltaic vitality brings to college students, communities, and the local weather. We hope this report will encourage extra faculties to discover what’s potential of their districts and be part of the clear vitality motion,” says Stuart Gardner, govt director of Generation180.

Learn extra: Oakland is now first in the US to deploy a 100% electric school bus fleet – and it’s V2G

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