LVJUSD Schools To Benefit From Solar Energy

LIVERMORE, CA - From Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District: Solar panel structures are being constructed at several sites throughout the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD), beginning this month. Parking lots or play areas will have the benefit of shade, while the panels will generate electricity to offset energy costs. Bruce Wilke, Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities for LVJUSD, said, “This is an exciting opportunity for our district to do its part in reducing the environmental impact of our schools while saving money in the process.”

The sites receiving solar panel installations are Altamont Creek Elementary, Arroyo Seco Elementary, Croce Elementary, Granada High, Jackson Avenue Elementary, Junction Avenue K-8, Livermore High, and Marylin Avenue Elementary. These schools were identified as ideal for solar structures, based on factors including parking lot size, orientation to sun exposure, and lack of obstacles that would create shadows that would reduce the efficiency of the panels. “Ultimately, these are sites within the district that will produce enough solar power to pay for themselves,” said David Darlington, Energy, Water and Resource Conservation Consultant for LVJUSD. Over the next 25 years, savings on energy costs are projected to reach around $9.8 million.

This project is funded by a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a solar company that will design, build, own and operate the solar systems at each site and sell the energy produced by the systems to the District at a fixed price for the 20-year term of the contract.

Beginning with Granada High during the first week of October, construction will take place at these sites over the course of the next few months. Projects at each site are estimated to take about two weeks each, though some construction will overlap across the sites.

These panels will be constructed to take up minimal ground space and will not be installed on rooftops, but instead will provide additional shade as carports for the majority of arrays set up in parking lots. Marylin Avenue, Jackson Avenue, and Junction Avenue K-8 will benefit from shade structures around open spaces such as blacktops, in addition to parking structures.

LVJUSD, in keeping with the City of Livermore guidelines, will replace any trees that need to be removed to accommodate the panel construction, two-to-one. While very few trees will be impacted at any site, each tree that is removed will be replaced by two more drought-tolerant trees, to further reduce each school’s environmental footprint.

“The installation of solar panels is a long-anticipated project,” said Wilke. “We are looking forward to its completion and to seeing the benefits to our students and staff.”

Image via LVJUSD