[Vision2020] Genesee School Installs 50 kilowatt (kW) Photovoltaic System

[Ted Moffett]

I wonder if any tea party loyalists against federal liberal tax and
spend Obama policies are going to condemn this Genesee school solar array as
a waste of tax dollars?
http://gsd282.blogspot.com/2011/07/genesee-school-gets-energy-boost-from.html
Wednesday,
July 13, 2011
 Genesee School gets energy boost from ARRA grant. Written By Holly Bowen -
Moscow Daily News. Printed July 2, 2011

The solar panels are up, the switches have been turned on and now Genesee
School is generating its own electricity thanks to a grant from the Idaho
Office of Energy Resources.
Genesee Joint School District officials learned in January their school was
one of only nine across the state to receive part of the $2.75 million worth
of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds set aside by the state
energy office for the installation of solar panels at public K-12 schools.
Genesee School received almost $260,000 of that funding, Superintendent
Wendy Moore said.
Crews from the Spokane-based Power City Electric began installation of the
school's solar panels in May and finished work this Thursday.
Rows of black photovoltaic modules - 192 in total - now cover the white roof
of the school's gymnasium and face south to absorb as much sunlight as
possible.
"It's pretty impressive," Moore said Thursday while looking at the rooftop
arrays.
Jeff Middleton, project manager with Power City Electric, said the 50
kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic system will supplement the school's energy
supply, meaning the school district will now pay less on its monthly power
bill.
The amount of energy generated by the system varies depending on temperature
and the amount of sunlight, he said, making it difficult to estimate just
how much the school will end up saving.
He said the modules absorb sunlight and generate electricity even when it's
cloudy, but the best conditions occur on cold, clear days.
The solar panels require relatively little maintenance - Middleton said an
engineer determined the modules can handle the winter snow load, and it's
normal to clean the arrays a couple times a year.
"It's just like looking through the windshield of a car," he said about the
glass covering the solar cells.
The direct current (DC) power generated by the modules travels by wire
inside conduit to an inverter box that transforms it into alternating
current (AC) electricity to be used by the school.
"It's like hooking a bunch of batteries together," Middleton said.
He said people originally tried to store solar power in batteries, but it's
much more cost-effective to convert and use the energy right away.
"In general, you get whatever you can get, invert it to AC and then use it
while you have it," he said. "Somebody'll use it somewhere. If you don't use
it, it will go back on the grid."
He said the photovoltaic modules are under a 25-year warranty, while the
inverter box is warrantied for 20 years.
Moore said the solar array has already and will continue to serve as a
learning opportunity for Genesee students.
She said science teacher Jen Pollard wrote the grant with help from
maintenance supervisor Todd Dahmen. Pollard also involved her students in
the planning process.
"The physics class worked on it last year," Moore said.
The students made measurements and calculated the number of watts the school
could potentially produce.
She said meters on the photovoltaic system are connected to the school's
computer network, so students and teachers will be able to monitor the
amount of power their school is generating.
Middleton said because the project was funded by federal stimulus dollars,
the vast majority of the components used had to be manufactured in the
United States. He said many of the parts for Genesee School's solar array
were made in Oregon.
He said photovoltaic systems are becoming an increasingly cheaper
alternative energy option because mass production is driving down the price
of components.
 Posted by Wendy Moore at 1:18
PM<http://gsd282.blogspot.com/2011/07/genesee-school-gets-energy-boost-from.html>
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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