Bay Area school district offsets budget cuts with solar energy
Mount Diablo Unified School District, which sits just east of San Francisco and Oakland, partnered with SunPower Corp to install the worlds largest solar installation for a school district.
By David Wogan
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Mount Diablo Unified School District, which sits just east of San Francisco and Oakland, partnered with SunPower Corp to install the world’s largest solar installation for a school district. The District now has 12.1 MW (magawatts) of solar capacity at its facilities and parking lots.
Perhaps more interesting is how the economics of solar are factoring in to the District’s budget. Max Pringle writes:
Mt. Diablo faces a bleak future of millions of dollars of state funding cuts and slashed school programs. But, three years ago, District officials came up with the idea of offsetting projected budget cuts with savings from renewable energy. “We’re going to be generating about $6 million in these obviously difficult financial times in the State of California,” said Mount Diablo Schools Superintendent Steven Lawrence. “That’s huge and it’s equivalent to about 100 teaching positions.”
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The PV installations are expected to save the District $220 million over 30 years. The project was paid for in part by federal Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, along with general obligation bonds. The project also presents an opportunity for students to learn about the science and engineering of energy systems.
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
