This case study was originally published in the 3rd edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. K-12 Schools (2020). This story was updated September 2022. 

When Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) students came back to school this year, they were welcomed with newly installed solar canopies at fourteen school sites that will power close to all of the district’s electricity needs. During the school year, battery storage will be installed at six of those sites to form solar-powered microgrids that can store energy onsite and provide power to the buildings when the grid goes down.

The district began planning for energy resilience after historic wildfires and mudslides devastated the Montecito community in Santa Barbara County in January 2018. The schools were called on to serve as safe havens and emergency response centers. Nearly five years after that climate emergency, the school district is prepared for future power outages with energy resilience hubs that can keep schools operating and provide needed services for community members. 

Two years before the disastrous mudslides occurred, a newly elected member of the Board of Education, Laura Capps, had begun advocating for the district to become more environmentally sustainable. As a longtime Santa Barbara resident, she was proud of Santa Barbara’s history as the birthplace of the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. She thought the school district could be doing more to protect the planet for future generations, and she wanted to change the fact that none of the schools in the district had solar panels. Capps discovered that one neighboring district had cut electricity costs by almost $1 million annually by producing its own solar energy, prompting her to become the champion for installing solar arrays at SBUSD. 

Although Capps had repeatedly brought up the benefits of solar energy at board meetings and budget discussions, she could not get the support of other board members and district leaders, who were more concerned with competing priorities. According to Capps, “there was the feeling that if you focus on sustainability you are taking your eye off the ball of literacy — the more fundamental mission of a school system.”

Only after natural disaster struck the community did Capps finally get agreement to move forward with solar arrays and to develop a comprehensive energy resilience plan. In 2019, the district began to move forward with energy resilience plans as the threat of wildfires around California caused statewide utilities to de-energize power lines to prevent from sparking wildfires. Millions of Californians lost power that year due to these public safety power shut-offs triggered by threats of wildfires.

Santa Barbara Unified School District teamed up with nonprofit Clean Coalition to develop plans for state-of-the-art, solar-powered microgrids that deliver a high level of energy resilience and diminished electricity costs. The district now has 4.2 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity across fourteen sites, including twelve schools, a district office, and a food storage warehouse. The solar canopies will power 94-98% of the district’s electricity needs. The battery storage being installed at six of the fourteen sites will have 1.9 MW power rating/3.8 MWh battery capacity. The battery storage can support all of the electricity loads of those buildings when solar energy is plentiful.

The district financed the project through a 28-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the project developer Engie, which required no upfront capital costs paid by the district. In total, the projects are estimated to save the school district a total of $7.8 million throughout the life of the 28-year agreement. According to Clean Coalition, the solar-powered microgrids provide an additional $6.5 million in value-of-resilience (VOR), which is the monetary value of keeping the building powered.

 “It’s a win for our finances — this project will save $8 million over the lifetime of the project, which is money that can go directly back into the classroom. And it is clearly a win for our community — this will help us reach Santa Barbara city’s target of zero emissions. Finally, we are doing our part by transitioning to renewable energy,”  said Laura Capps, SBUSD Board of Education

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

The local high school on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, home to around 9,100 tribal members in Heart Butte, Montana, is the host of a community solar project that is serving the community by reducing energy costs. With almost 40% of the population living in poverty, more than twice the state average, families are struggling to pay their electricity bills. Heart Butte Public Schools teamed up with local utility Glacier Electric Cooperative and nonprofit GRID Alternatives to develop a solution that would help the school district and its neighbors save money. With grant funding provided by the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund and Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the district installed a 160 kW community solar array at Heart Butte High School in July 2021.

What Is Community Solar?

Equitable access to solar power is growing through a practice called community solar, also known as shared solar or solar gardens. Community solar enables customers (or subscribers) to buy or rent part of an off-site solar system and receive credit on their energy bill for the electricity it produces. This arrangement allows people to enjoy the benefits of solar without having to install their own system, making solar accessible to those who rent or cannot afford to install solar.

Heart Butte High School is expected to save $42,000 in electricity costs over 30 years. Households can subscribe, with no upfront costs, to the community solar program and anticipate savings of approximately $200 per year. Glacier allows 20 community members to enroll per year and the program is fully subscribed. Moving forward, Glacier will rotate enrolled subscribers annually to spread the benefits to as many new households as possible. The program is expected to reduce electricity costs for the community by a total of $120,000.

“We thought it was a good idea. Instead of just powering the school, we’re sending 75% of the electricity to the community. That’s because we’re all about the kids’ basic needs being met before they come in to learn. It’s putting money back into the pockets of kids and their families every month, and that’s a direct benefit to the people,” explains Mike Tatsey, Heart Butte Public Schools Superintendent.

This community solar project brought another important benefit to Heart Butte students and tribal members: workforce development. GRID employed community members to install the solar array and provided online and in-person training to develop those skills within the tribal community. GRID provided hands-on training for Heart Butte High School students, exposing them to possible career paths in renewable energy and helping them acquire job skills. Trainees learned about solar systems, acquired the necessary skills to complete a solar installation, and got an opportunity to complete a roof or ground installation. The students received pay and benefits for their work as well as equipment they would need in the field.

One student, Jaiden Comesatnight, got involved with GRID’s student training after learning about the Heart Butte Community Solar Project from his counselor and principal. He joined the project a few months after graduating high school and worked on the solar installation for about a month and a half. After his work on the project, GRID offered him a full-time job as a solar installer.

“My uncle has worked on wind turbines, but I’m the first in my family to work in the solar industry,” says Jaiden. “One thing I enjoy the most about my job is that I get to travel around the country, something many of my family members on the reservation haven’t experienced before.”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

North Community High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota is the host site for an innovative community solar project that prioritizes climate justice, diversity, and equity. The high school serves a racially and economically diverse community, making it an ideal location to install a solar garden that provides community members an opportunity to access clean, cost-saving energy. Minneapolis Public Schools and the City of Minneapolis together benefit from 20% of the array’s electricity, and the remainder is allocated for the benefit of subscribers in the community.

What Is Community Solar?

Equitable access to solar power is growing through a practice called community solar, also known as shared solar or solar gardens. Community solar enables customers (or subscribers) to buy or rent part of an off-site solar system and receive credit on their energy bill for the electricity it produces. This arrangement allows people to enjoy the benefits of solar without having to install their own system, making solar accessible to those who rent or cannot afford to install solar.

The North Community High School Community Solar Garden is a collaborative project involving the school district, local government, and community partners. Two local Black-owned businesses, Renewable Energy Partners and Go Solar Construction, developed and installed the 365 kW solar garden, which went online in summer 2022. Nonprofit Minneapolis Climate Action partnered with Renewable Energy Partners to enroll families in the solar garden and administer subscriptions.

The solar garden is set up with low-income households in mind. Families who wouldn’t normally have access to solar are first in line for subscriptions. To increase accessibility, enrollment requires no credit checks or upfront costs. If subscribers want to save more on their electricity bill, they can choose to pay a one-time subscription fee. The solar garden has the capacity to power up to 70 homes, and to date 65 households have subscribed.

“Community solar gives people an opportunity to own their own solar array and participate in something collectively with their neighbors,” said Kristel Porter, executive director of Minnesota Renewable Now and a leader of community engagement efforts around the solar garden.

“This is especially important for communities that often get left behind in so many ways. It’s empowering for them too – they finally have a say in something that directly impacts their lives.”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

At Mount Desert Island High School (MDIHS) in Bar Harbor, Maine, a group of passionate students is driving clean energy and climate change initiatives. In 2016, a high school senior research project found that the school roof could hold enough solar panels to power MDIHS’s electricity needs. With support from local nonprofit A Climate to Thrive, the student project became a plan supported by principal Matt Haney to make MDIHS the first school in Maine to be 100% powered by solar.

The student-led ECO (Environmental Concerns Organization) Team played a significant role in the solar project. Students helped review bids from solar installers and made recommendations on the selected proposal. Their efforts paid off in the fall of 2019 when MDIHS’s solar array went online, reducing the school’s carbon emissions by 810,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. ECO Team students educated their peers about the project’s benefits and held a school assembly to celebrate the new solar array. In 2020, MDIHS was one of two Maine schools recognized as a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School.

Following the solar project, the ECO Team created Project Legacy, an initiative to expand on what they started and bring clean energy to their community and other Maine schools. Through Project Legacy, students are involved in obtaining a commitment from the school board to make the district carbon neutral by 2030, integrating climate change and renewable energy topics across the curriculum, and studying impacts of climate change on diverse communities.

The ECO Team’s clean energy advocacy is having a ripple effect in the community. Sparked by MDIHS’s solar project and student-led publicity efforts, two large community solar farms were installed on Mount Desert Island. Several students wrote a white paper explaining how MDIHS went solar to provide a road map for others to follow, and several schools around Maine have since committed to solar projects. The ECO Team is also inspiring long-term change by building trust in the community. Recently, ECO Team students secured commitments from two town councils to create climate task forces that will address issues raised by students.

Principal Haney is proud of what his students have accomplished.

“Making the transition to clean energy in our schools and communities is more likely to happen when students can advocate with decision-makers beyond the school. Our community believes in and trusts our students. There’s more power in their words than in mine.”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

Several years ago, a group of students in Barbara Hurley’s environmental science class at Rincon High School in Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) began exploring real-world questions in their school’s agrivoltaics garden. One question they wanted to answer: could they successfully plant carrots, usually grown in cooler temperatures, in the heat of late summer when shaded under a solar panel canopy? The students’ curiosity and hard work paid off when they harvested a healthy crop of carrots in late fall and proved that the cooler, wetter microclimate created under the solar panels could change the seasonality of plant lifecycles.

Ms. Hurley’s students have a unique opportunity to conduct college-level research and make scientific discoveries about agrivoltaics, thanks to a collaboration between TUSD and the University of Arizona’s (UA) Community and School Garden Workshop. This partnership began in 2009 when UA was seeking internship opportunities to expand its agrivoltaics research. At the same time, TUSD was looking for ways to enrich student learning. The partnership proved to be an ideal pairing and a win-win for the university and the school district.

“Every year, I get students with a range of abilities, including those who think they can’t do science,” says Ms. Hurley. “By the end of the year, most students realize that they can and are way better at it than they thought they were.”

In Ms. Hurley’s class, students can often be found outdoors engaging in hands-on, real-world science and making important discoveries about the world they live in. Students pick the research topic, design and conduct the project, document their observations, and share their findings in a poster presentation. In addition to studying changes in seasonality, students have measured and compared temperatures of the garden’s solar arrays versus those over the parking lot, how the shape of solar panels can affect what you plant and where, and whether rainwater collected from solar panels is better for watering plants.

TUSD is home to two agrivoltaics gardens, one on the shared campus of Rincon High School and University High School and the second at Manzo Elementary School. Both gardens are making science accessible to students, giving them opportunities to engage in outdoor learning and see answers come to life through hands-on research.

“Many aspects of our agrivoltaics work at UA fall in that sweet spot of being interesting and something that students can help us conduct,” explained Greg Barron-Gafford, associate director of the UA Community and School Garden Workshop.

“This collaboration allows us to crowdsource our science with an able, creative, and excited team of kids!”

At Manzo Elementary School, students use the agrivoltaics garden as an outdoor classroom where they are encouraged to think like scientists – to make observations, ask questions, and test things. On any given day, you can find students out in the garden taking measurements and tracking daily patterns for things such as soil moisture, temperature, relative humidity, incoming light, and wind speed. The young student scientists share their enthusiasm by leading tours of the school’s agrivolatics garden and showing the adults how to take measurements.

“Gardens have a way of developing how a student feels and sees themself,” said Greg Barron-Gafford. “Working in the garden feeds their natural curiosity and helps them develop self-confidence and an appreciation for their abilities to engage in science.”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

The harmful effects of climate change are already a daily reality in Miami, Florida, a city that grapples with having the country’s highest risk for hurricanes and sea-level rise. In 2019, a group of students and parents in Miami-Dade County Public Schools who were deeply concerned about climate change decided to step up to make sure their school, district, and state were taking serious action to protect their futures.

As a ninth grader, Thomas Brulay joined the Green Champions at his high school, Maritime and Science Technology (MAST) Academy. The student-led group is working toward a goal of making their school the first zero-energy and zero-waste school in Florida. With support from parent Michele Drucker, a leader of the school’s Parent Teacher Student Association, the Green Champions made huge strides toward this goal. The students secured a $40,000 grant from the Village of Key Biscayne to install a 26 kW solar array on the school’s PE field.

While they were making progress at their own school, they recognized that they needed to address the climate impacts of the entire district. As the fourth largest district in the country with 522 schools and over 350,000 students, Miami-Dade County Public Schools has a sizeable footprint. The district spends $65 million per year on electricity, which is predominantly fueled by methane gas. With an ambitious vision to get their district to 100% clean energy, Michele, Thomas, and other climate advocates began working on plans to transform district policy and state legislation in support of their goal.

As Environmental Chair for the Miami-Dade County Council Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Michele drafted and introduced a resolution that called on the district to take urgent climate action and commit to 100% clean energy by 2030. In March 2021, 200 people attended a virtual meeting to show their support, and the PTA voted unanimously in favor of the groundbreaking resolution.

With the PTA’s endorsement and a groundswell of support from the community for climate action, the resolution was presented to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools School Board to officially adopt the 100% clean energy goal. At the April 21, 2021 school board meeting, Thomas was one of several students to speak in favor of the resolution. He told the board members: “You now have an opportunity to show tremendous leadership by becoming the first school district in the South to make such a bold commitment. A goal of 100% signals to students like me that you truly care about our future.” The school board unanimously passed the resolution, committing to a goal of 100% clean energy by 2030.

Right after the resolution passed, a bill was introduced in the state legislature that would enable schools, municipalities, and tax-exempt nonprofit organizations to go solar with no upfront costs and make the transition to 100% clean energy affordable for the district. The Green Champions encouraged their school community and school board members to speak to their legislators about supporting the bill. Thomas started a petition and secured over 1,200 signatures in favor of the legislation. Michele wrote op-eds to newspapers and participated in advocacy events to garner public and legislator support. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass.

During the 2021–2022 school year, Michele served as vice chair of the district’s Clean Energy 2030 Task Force, which was commissioned by the school board to review current district sustainability measures and issue a report with an implementation plan and recommendations for moving forward. Based on the task force’s recommendations, the district is hiring its first Sustainability Director to lead the charge in achieving 100% clean energy.

Thomas graduated from MAST Academy in 2022 but remains firmly committed to clean energy advocacy. During his senior year, he continued to work toward getting his school to zero energy, meeting with solar developers and school board members about a plan for solar leasing and energy retrofits.

“What makes me the proudest is the amount of awareness on climate change and clean and renewable energy that now exists among students, parents, teachers, faculty, and board members in my community due to our advocacy and community work,” said Thomas. “Even school district leaders have realized that this issue is of great importance and are working hard to get our schools to become 100% net zero by 2030.”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

“I knew about renewable energy, but I never really understood how it worked or why it was important. The Renewable Energy Academy opened my eyes and introduced me to careers I didn’t know existed,” explains Kimberly, a high school junior in Denver Public Schools (DPS).

Kimberly was one of 12 student participants in the inaugural Renewable Energy Academy, which teaches high school students about careers in renewable energy and gives them an opportunity to gain basic solar installation skills needed to get hired in the solar industry. The four-week summer academy, held in June 2022, was a joint effort between DPS and GRID Alternatives Colorado, a nonprofit solar installer and industry trainer. Funding for the academy came from three-year grants that were awarded to DPS and GRID from Denver’s Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency Department for the promotion of green career pathways.

During the program, students received eight hours of mentoring from engineering and construction professionals, who shared their different career paths and provided guidance on career exploration and setting long-term goals. They went on site tours at Jack’s Solar Garden to learn about using solar fields for agriculture and at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to participate in renewable energy demonstrations, and attended a workshop focused on electrician apprenticeship opportunities. They also completed a capstone project to design a sustainable city, an activity that enabled students to apply what they learned in the academy and practice soft skills like teamwork and communication that will serve them in the workplace.

A key feature of the Renewable Energy Academy was the opportunity for students to participate in GRID’s solar installation basic training (IBT Lab Lite) during the middle two weeks of the program. This 40-hour high school course taught construction basics, electricity fundamentals, solar system design and components, and 3D modeling, mostly through hands-on applications. Students learned how to use common hand and power tools, completed a solar installation on a mock ground-based roof array, wired a small, off-grid solar system, and engaged in labs to measure solar panel output. They also met with solar industry professionals who discussed their careers and the different career pathways available in solar.

After completing the IBT Lab Lite course, students received a certificate from GRID that demonstrates they have acquired the skills necessary for solar installation. This entry-level, industry-vetted training will give these high school students a head start in the solar industry and prepare them for internships and the next level of training required to enter the workforce. Once students turn 18, they can build on their high school training and participate in GRID’s adult solar training program. GRID also has an agreement with local solar industry partners who will recognize the certificate and consider those students for solar installation jobs at their companies.

All 12 students completed the IBT Lab Lite course, and 11 students completed the entire Renewable Energy Academy. After a successful first year, DPS and GRID look forward to offering the academy again next summer.

As for Kimberly, she plans to use her certificate to get a job in solar installation after high school. She wants to save money for college and is thinking about pursuing a career in solar design and installation or electrical engineering.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend the Renewable Energy Academy,” said Kimberly. “I learned so much and had a lot of fun too!”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

Pittsburg, California, located about 40 miles east of San Francisco, was historically known as Black Diamond, a nod to the nearby coal resources that supported the town’s economy. However, Pittsburg’s reliance on coal is shifting, and Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) is building a new reputation for the community as a leader in sustainability.

According to Superintendent Dr. Janet Shulze, PUSD’s success in transitioning to clean energy can be attributed to institutionalizing their goals and commitments at the school board level. In 2018, green school operations and energy and environmental resource management were codified as board policies. These policies hold PUSD leadership and staff accountable for meeting clean energy and sustainability goals, ensure that sustainability remains a priority regardless of changes in leadership, and help maintain a culture that supports implementing innovative clean energy projects.

PUSD’s clean energy efforts took off in 2011 with solar installations at 12 district campuses and its support center. With 3.49 MW of solar online, PUSD generates 90% of its electricity consumption from the sun. The solar installations are helping PUSD avoid energy costs of over $1 million per year, with lifetime cost savings of over $11 million. The district is now designing a new building for Parkside Elementary School that will become its first zero-energy school.

Transitioning to an electric vehicle (EV) fleet is another component of PUSD’s clean energy commitment. When Matthew Belasco, Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation, assumed leadership of PUSD’s transportation department in 2017, he developed a plan to electrify its fleet of vehicles and school buses.

“When I watched the buses leave each day with big plumes of black smoke billowing out the back, it reminded me of seeing the same thing as a kid. I knew we could do better for our students. That really motivated me to electrify our fleet.”

Belasco secured funding for the first two electric school buses using a combination of grants and district money and leveraged PG&E’s pilot EV incentive program to cover costs for charging infrastructure. Currently, PUSD’s fleet includes four electric school buses and six EVs for student transportation and staff use. Belasco anticipates adding three more electric school buses in the fall of 2022. PUSD has also applied for grant funding to install 32 chargers at five schools to encourage staff to drive EVs. An additional 18 chargers at three more schools are expected to come online by the end of 2022.

Soon after Belasco began electrifying the fleet, he started to research battery storage. When he learned about how batteries can reduce energy costs by discharging power during peak load times and also provide backup power during grid outages, he was sold. “While we haven’t experienced any shutdowns due to grid failure, it can’t hurt to be over prepared. The ability to keep our schools open and running during a power failure ensures that there are no disruptions to teaching and learning.”

PUSD’s battery storage system is expected to be online in December 2022. The system will include 1.6 MW of a combination of two- and four-hour lithium batteries for a total of 3.0 megawatt-hours at 10 district campuses. As an early adopter, PUSD is able to take advantage of financial incentives offered through power delivery company MCE Energy and $1 million in energy infrastructure grants from PG&E. Models show PUSD could save $78,000 per year and an additional $50,000-$70,000 in incentives for the first five to seven years of operation.

PUSD’s districtwide commitment to sustainability is getting noticed. Several nearby school districts have visited to learn about its clean energy initiatives. In recent years, PUSD has been named a Green Ribbon School District with Gold Distinction by the California Department of Education and received leadership awards from Green California Schools and Community Colleges.

“My advice to other districts is to codify your sustainability practices and commitments as school board policy,” says Dr. Schulze. “Doing this gives staff the directive and encouragement to press forward and ensures these practices continue, regardless of changes in district leadership.”

This case study was originally published in the 4th edition of Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (2022).

Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) serves nearly one-quarter of New Mexico’s public school students at 143 schools across a region spanning more than 1,200 square miles. The largest district in the state is costly to operate, and it initially turned to energy conservation and clean energy to reduce its burdensome utility bills. Now APS is at the forefront of clean energy deployment in the public school sector and boasts the most extensive battery storage system in New Mexico.

For the past decade, the APS Water and Energy Conservation Committee (WECC), which includes district leadership, municipal utility staff, and the state department of energy staff, has led the district to set and meet ambitious sustainability goals, such as reducing water and energy use by 20% over a 10-year period ending in the 2023–2024 school year. With WECC’s guidance, APS codified sustainability into school board policy and now requires that all new buildings are solar-ready, receive preliminary photovoltaic designs, and meet green building standards. The district’s pioneering efforts in sustainability now include a solar + battery storage project that will drastically reduce energy costs and provide resiliency during power disruptions.

This first-of-its-kind project is part of the Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Sandia National Laboratories and is jointly supported by New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resource Department, Clean Energy States Alliance, and Osceola Energy. The state’s largest high school, Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, was selected as the site for the solar + battery storage project due to its hefty utility bills, which can exceed $50,000 every month in the summer. More than half of Atrisco’s electricity bill comes from demand charges, which are based on the highest electricity use at any point during the month. The batteries can be used to discharge stored energy to the grid incrementally throughout the day to reduce those peaks (also known as peak shaving) to avoid demand charges and lower the electricity bill. The cost savings for this project are anticipated to be $3.5 million over 25 years.

APS broke ground on the solar + battery storage project in October 2021. The fully installed system will include 2,200 rooftop solar panels and a Tesla Megapack 2 battery with an energy storage capacity of 2,884 kWh. APS anticipates that the system will be operational by the end of 2022.

The next phase of the project is to evolve the battery system so it can be used for islanding – taking the building off the grid and using the battery to supply power for designated areas. The ability to keep school buildings operational when the grid goes down would ensure that students can stay in school for learning, meals, and other essential services. Atrisco serves a population where 14% of students live in households below the federal poverty line and nearly all students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The campus has an onsite community health clinic and is often used as a community gathering space. A resilient school campus would provide numerous benefits to students and the community.

APS is currently working on an implementation plan and a cost analysis so when the time comes to enter this next phase, the district will be ready. The battery system would be designed to provide backup power to an area of campus that includes large spaces where people can congregate in an emergency or during a grid outage, such as the gym, library, and cafeteria. This project will be a pilot for rolling out similar projects at other district schools.

“At APS, we’re creating a culture within the district and the community that promotes and values sustainability,” says Anthony Sparks, APS Project Manager and WECC team member. “As the largest district in the state, we want to set a good example and do groundbreaking work so smaller districts can implement similar projects and not be afraid to do so.”