CVUSD implementing solar energy plan

The CVUSD school board has recently taken steps to implement a proposal that would authorize construction of solar energy panels at CVHS, Canyon Middle School, and the Adult Education/District office facilities. If the proposal does pass, construction would begin sometime in 2011 and would take 4-6 months.

“From the analysis we’ve done so far, we think that the panels will save about $9 million on all three sites over the course of the 25 year warranty,” said Mike Bush, the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services to the district.

The panels would be put in areas with large amounts of uninterrupted sun and would be built to create several large, continuous surfaces, maximizing the efficiency of the conversion of solar energy into electricity. Most of the panels would be located in parking lots and would also serve as shade structures for parked cars.

The plan would be funded by Build America Bonds, which were created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bonds would be paid back over the course of 20 years with money that would otherwise be used to buy energy from PG&E.

“I think that the installation of solar panels at our school is a great idea,” said Beryl Wang, vice president of the Smart Energy Club. “They’re a necessary and highly beneficial investment that will have to be made eventually, regardless of how much we need them right now.”

The panels would cost a projected $6.5 million, but a PG&E incentive and a subsidy granted by the US Treasury would alleviate the cost of the project. The PG&E incentive would pay the school district 15 cents for every kilowatt-hour produced by the panels, which would cut a projected $1.4 million from the plan’s total cost. The subsidy would pay 35 percent of the interest on the bonds. In all, the subsidy and incentive would save the district about $173,000 per year on the original cost of the project.           

Although the proposal has not yet been passed, Bush claims that all indications point to the project being implemented.

“The school board is committed to the district’s increased usage of renewable energy sources in order to conserve natural resources and save money to support other district needs,” said Bush. “Needless to say, I think this will be a good thing for the Castro Valley school district.”

The next step in the process is final board approval. If all paperwork is submitted by the Dec. 31, 2010 deadline, then construction will begin sometime in 2011.