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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumWhat happens when schools go solar?
https://earth.stanford.edu/news/what-happens-when-schools-go-solarWhat happens when schools go solar?
Rooftop solar projects at schools could reduce harmful air pollution, help the environment and enhance student learning while cutting electricity costs, a new study finds.
BY Josie Garthwaite
May 02, 2019
Sunshine splashing onto school rooftops and campuses across the country is an undertapped resource that could help shrink electricity bills, new research suggests.
The study, published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters, shows taking advantage of all viable space for solar panels could allow schools to meet up to 75 percent of their electricity needs and reduce the education sectors carbon footprint by as much as 28 percent.
At the same time, solar panels could help schools unplug from grids fed by natural gas and coal power plants that produce particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides air pollutants that can contribute to smog and acid rain as well as serious health consequences including heart attacks and reduced lung function. This is an action we can take that benefits the environment and human health in a real, meaningful way, said Stanford behavioral scientist Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, an author of the study.
New solar projects may easily slip down the list of priorities in a time of widespread protests by teachers calling for increased school funding, smaller class sizes and higher wages. But the U.S. Department of Energy estimates K-12 school spend more than $6 billion per year on energy, and energy costs in many districts are second only to salaries. In the higher education sector, yearly energy costs add up to more than $14 billion.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aafbcfRooftop solar projects at schools could reduce harmful air pollution, help the environment and enhance student learning while cutting electricity costs, a new study finds.
BY Josie Garthwaite
May 02, 2019
Sunshine splashing onto school rooftops and campuses across the country is an undertapped resource that could help shrink electricity bills, new research suggests.
The study, published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters, shows taking advantage of all viable space for solar panels could allow schools to meet up to 75 percent of their electricity needs and reduce the education sectors carbon footprint by as much as 28 percent.
At the same time, solar panels could help schools unplug from grids fed by natural gas and coal power plants that produce particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides air pollutants that can contribute to smog and acid rain as well as serious health consequences including heart attacks and reduced lung function. This is an action we can take that benefits the environment and human health in a real, meaningful way, said Stanford behavioral scientist Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, an author of the study.
New solar projects may easily slip down the list of priorities in a time of widespread protests by teachers calling for increased school funding, smaller class sizes and higher wages. But the U.S. Department of Energy estimates K-12 school spend more than $6 billion per year on energy, and energy costs in many districts are second only to salaries. In the higher education sector, yearly energy costs add up to more than $14 billion.
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What happens when schools go solar? (Original Post)
OKIsItJustMe
May 2019
OP
Finishline42
(1,091 posts)1. Non-profits are at a 30% disadvantage re: renewable tax credits
Since they don't have profits to apply renewable energy credits toward.
Maybe there should be a program to fund that 30% for non-profits? How would you pay for that 30% funding? Maybe take a percentage of the output for 30 years? Say 15%? Also you you would add the tax revenue created by the jobs such a program would create.
IndyOp
(15,524 posts)2. Yeah, baby! Big, flat roofs - perfect for panels. (nt)
hunter
(38,311 posts)3. Our local schools have aggressively installed solar power, kindergarten through community college.
It's generally installed over parking lots and paved playground areas, providing welcome shade.
NickB79
(19,243 posts)4. My daughter's school went live last year
The principal says it will save millions over the next 20 yr.
https://energynews.us/2017/11/14/midwest/investment-in-solar-grows-dramatically-in-minnesotas-k-12-schools/