Kentfield School District
Bacich Elementary School
The Challenge
In 2004, Bacich School’s electric bill was $38,000, and it was escalating with no end in sight. The school district needed reliable, economical energy that was environmentally friendly, sustainable and price stable. A Master Facilities Plan, financed by a General Obligation Bond, included the installation of solar arrays to reduce utility costs and move the district toward energy self-generation.
The system had to be highly reliable, easy to maintain, completely safe in its installation and performance, and meet heightened seismic and safety building code requirements as reviewed by the California Division of State Architects (DSA). The solar array also had to be minimally intrusive in order to maintain the attractiveness of the campus.
The Solution
SPG designed and installed a grid-tied 183-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system that provides all the electricity needs of the elementary school campus, including classrooms, common areas, library and administrative offices. Our design called for solar PV panels to be mounted on four campus rooftops, oriented for optimum “sun catching” and performance. The panels are installed on a SunLink™ Mounting System designed for flat roofs. The system’s low-angle profile keeps it mainly hidden from view. Walkways between sets of panels allow easy access to the roofs for maintenance and retrieving balls kicked up from the playground.
The California Division of State Architects (DSA) reviewed the design extensively. It’s extremely safe, meeting or exceeding the State’s seismic and safety building codes for schools.
SPG also installed a SunSpot® PV Monitoring System. This ensures maximum efficiency, showing in realtime how much solar energy is being produced by the system, how much is being consumed by the school, and how much energy is being sold to or bought from the utility. This data is on view at an interactive kiosk in the school library. For teachers and administrators, SunSpot has an online capability to look at historic PV data, so they can get a time-of-use perspective for any time period.
SPG also installed a 200 kW solar PV system at Kent Middle School, which made Kentfield the first public school district in California to go 100 percent solar.
Noteworthy Achievements
- First 100% solar school district in the US
- Environmental Protection Agency – Green Power Partnership: Top 20 K-12 Schools
The Benefits
SPG’s system is a safe, clean, reliable source of energy that provides 100 percent of the school’s electricity, eliminating the net annual electric bill. School budgeting is easier because the district is insulated from energy price hikes. Since the school no longer consumes electricity from the utility, this energy is available to other users on the grid, easing the utility’s load.
The system connects to the local power grid to take advantage of California’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) program. Under NEM, the utility credits the school for any surplus electricity sent back onto the grid. The system generates enough electricity to power 41 average-sized homes.
The Green Line
SPG’s system at Bacich School reduces by 170 tons the carbon dioxide that would be released into the atmosphere annually by a fossil fuel power plant. It takes 420 acres of rainforest to filter this much CO2 each year from atmosphere.
