The Berryessa School District has been putting together plans for an innovative solar installation at each of our school sites. The plan is unique in that the installation will not cost the district anything, and the district will benefit from savings in electricity expenses as well as from sharing carbon credits in the future.
The project would be in partnership with a venture capital firm that would pay for all the design and construction and would own the solar panels. They would then sell electricity back to the district at a rate below the rate PG&E charges.
The project is financially viable as long as all construction is complete by the end of 2012, so that the funding party can take advantage of tax credits that are scheduled to expire at that time.
The district's contribution is the land at each site where solar would be installed. The Board has decided that we should not risk damage to our new roofs and therefore all solar installations will be ground mount or parking lot cover styles.
The Board will vote on August 23 to get the process moving. The next step after that will be a series of public hearings so that the public has a chance to view the designs and give feedback before designs are finalized later this fall.
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3 comments:
Can you give an overview of the financials of this project? The Milpitas School District did this, but I think the school got only minimal benefit. Something like: School district electric bill is $1.2 million per year. Solar panels fill 100% of school's electric need. School saves $200,000 yearly on electric cost. Therefore, it feels to me like the private company is making quite a bit of money off the school.
Unlike Milpitas, SJ Unified, or East Side, who are leasing the panels or paid out capital dollars to build them, our panels will be installed, owned, and maintained by the venture firm. We buy our electricity from them at a reduced rate, about 10% savings. Since we can't predict PG&E's long term rate increases, we don't know what our savings will be, except that our escalator factor is below historical PG&E rate increases.
The venture firm obviously has to make profit on the deal, but we do share in some of them. During the first 4 years, we receive lump sum payments from the solar tax credits. I think those are on the order of $100,000 per year. The plan also calls for us to share in future carbon credits, should those come into being.
Even if our savings are limited to the $100,000, that is an additional teacher or other services that we can't now afford. And reducing our district's carbon footprint is a good thing. Plus, there will be educational programs based on having solar on the school sites.
This sounds very good. Good job Trustees and BUSD.
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