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After two years of planning and construction, the Red Clay Consolidated School District is gearing up to flip the switch on a solar array nearing completion at Brandywine Springs School.
In March 2008, George K. McDowell, the Manager of Facilities of the Red Clay Consolidated School District began exploring the possibility for solar at Red Clay’s facilities.
 Installation should be complete by March 30th with interconnection to the school’s electrical service completed in order to turn the system on in advance of the school’s Earth Day events on April 13.
Faced with the challenges of curbing energy costs while also reducing carbon emissions, George McDowell decided to include solar energy in the district’s Energy Excellence Program by piloting a solar strategy to reduce energy rate risk, limit emissions and provide the District with a clean energy facility on site. In 2009, all parties at Red Clay arrived at a decision to move forward and executed a contract with HelioSage for the purchase of solar electricity at Brandywine Springs School.
"We are excited that the Red Clay School District is at the front of the curve in adopting renewable energy generation technologies, and in a way that is both environmentally friendly as well as fiscally responsible”, said McDowell.
By selecting a power purchase agreement, Red Clay pays no capital costs for the solar array, and HelioSage operates and maintains the system at their expense. Red Clay purchases all of the electricity from the array and pays a fixed rate for each kilowatt-hour generated by the facility over a 20 year period – guaranteeing predictability in energy rates. The Brandywine Springs solar array will save the District between $125,000 and $200,000 over the course of the twenty year agreement.
“HelioSage is excited to partner with the Red Clay School District on this project and to help generate savings, while also providing a platform for learning about renewable energy right here on campus,” said Michael Knetzger, Project Developer at HelioSage.
In the next month HelioSage will work with various middle school science classes to teach them about how solar energy works and how the school’s solar array provides electricity for their school. |
