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Solar schools program shows possibilities |
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By Derrill Holly
Reprinted with permission from Electric Co-op Today
 Hilton Head Middle School
“We want the younger folks to see how electricity is produced and the limitations that are out there, ” said Van O’Cain, spokesman for The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina Inc.
Power generated by each of the 2KW units will be directed into the host building’s consumption stream, but students will have the opportunity to observe output from each of the systems.
State-owned utility Santee Cooper, which supplies power to the state’s 20 electric cooperatives, is committing funds from its GreenPower renewable energy program to fund the Solar Schools initiative.
“What better way to get our future leaders thinking about the challenges and opportunities of renewable energy than to put it in their hands,” said Laura G. Varn, Santee Cooper’s vice president of corporate communications. Plans call for math and science teachers to attend training sessions for presentation of the solar lessons by August.
A Hilton Head, S.C. school received the first solar assembly in April so students were able to observe its operation through the end of the school year. “Students really want to know what we can run off the panel,” said Hilton Head Middle School Principal Sherry DeSimone. A 2 KW solar panel generates enough power to run a small refrigerator or as many as seven personal computers.
Within five years at least one school in 19 of the state’s electric co-op service areas will have an operating solar site. Each solar panel array costs $20,000. The co-ops are contributing to the costs of the lesson kits and Internet based monitoring system.
“The students will have a chance to share this with their families on their home computers, so this is going to be dynamic.” said Lorna McBride, principal of Effingham, S.C.’s Savannah Grove Elementary School which is also hosting a system.
Students will also be able to note the effects of cloud cover, or seasonal changes on output and compare their data with output from similar units at schools across the nation.
“This is a great way to get them interested in alternative energy with realistic expectations about what’s possible,” said Brian Kelley, spokesman for Darlington, S.C.-based Pee Dee Electric Cooperative which is sponsoring the Savannah Grove project.
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