News Item

Pictured above - Mrs. Henry (teacher sponsor), Daniella Loscerbo,
Angelina Rose, Brian Branting (SD79 Energy Manager)

January 13, 2011

News Item - School District goes solar

A student Energy Ambassador at Chemainus Secondary came up with the initial idea - why not use solar panels on schools to save energy and costs? And in part that's why a significant energy management event was born over the Winter Break when solar hot water systems were installed on Chemainus Secondary, Cowichan Secondary and Frances Kelsey Secondary schools.

It is estimated that these systems will supply between 15 and 41 percent of the domestic hot water required - depending on the size of the school. The systems will also allow us to shut down the boiler systems in these schools when there is no high demand on hot water, such as showers.

This will add up to a significant savings for the district.

To fund the installation of the systems, the district is receiving $7,398 from each of three sources: EcoEnergy in the federal government; Solar BC; and Terasen Gas; and $41,421 from the Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement (PSECA) for a total of $63,584.

The school district's Annual Facilities Grant (AFG) covers the cost of the structural engineering and installation of the mounting system on the roof.