District Solar Deal Includes Learning Wagons

An Indiana district is setting up solar farms that will cover the energy usage for three of its schools. Hamilton Southeastern Schools will be working with Ameresco to implement two solar arrays, with a total of 4,800 panels and the capacity of generating 2.4 million kWh annually. The company said that level of energy production was sufficient to power 294 homes for a year, avoiding 1,687 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

District Solar Deal Includes Learning Wagons

District Solar Deal Includes Learning Wagons

District Solar Deal Includes Learning Wagons


Source: Hamilton Southeastern Schools

The deal also includes two "solar wagons" and programming to help the schools add solar-oriented curriculum into the classroom.

Funding is coming from a combination of four-year bond fees and cost savings expected from the solar arrays. According to local reporting, the investment is expected to be covered in 11 years through cost savings.

"Our partnership with Ameresco has already allowed us to invest in projects that directly benefit our students and create a more sustainable learning environment at our schools," said Superintendent, Allen Bourff, in a statement. According to the district the project, which began in January, has already loosened up sufficient budget to cover construction of a playground at an intermediate school, with the expectation that two more will be built in the future.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Fellowes Expands Finish and Wall-Covering Options for Architectural Wall Systems

    Fellowes Architectural Solutions has expanded the materials library for its architectural wall systems with a series of new finishes and wall-covering options intended to provide architects and designers with additional choices for commercial interiors, according to a company news release.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • UCF Modernizes College of Hospitality Management

    The University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., recently completed a major renovation effort for the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, according to a news release. The project modernized 77,600 square feet worth of academic classrooms, teaching labs, and collaborative spaces to support both students and faculty.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.