This month, 14 out of 18 Santa Barbara Unified School District campuses will be solar-powered, making them some of the first in the nation to have their own microgrids, according to District Sustainability Coordinator Desmond Ho.
Ho says the $2 million project took around four years to complete and will save the district $14 million in energy costs over the next 28 years. It includes microgrids designed to kick in if there is a loss of power or an emergency, powering essentials like food storage and telecommunications.
"District-wide, this is going to provide about 70% of the total power being used, and at individual sites, it's anywhere between about 80% to about 100% of the power that's being used by the site," Ho explained.
Superintendent Hilda Maldonado says she’s proud of the district’s commitment to sustainability.
"It's really setting a model for what school districts can be doing to add to all the things we're going to need around climate change," Maldonado said.
The solar panels and microgrids are also making their way into the curriculum.
"Teachers are already asking me for data regarding solar that they can use in their science classes, so I'm able to provide that data to them as well. So, these things have so many benefits for us," Ho said.
He says now that the panels are up and running, the district is switching its natural gas equipment to electric.
"Because it's going to be cheaper for us to run and it's better for the environment," Ho explained.
Neighboring district, Goleta Unified, says it too has plans for solar power and is gearing up to install solar canopies at three school sites and the district office this summer.
"These are just a very good symbol that we're trying to have cleaner power providing to our students and our facilities," Ho said.
