If anybody happened to be watching from space, Fort Bragg Unified School District buildings doubled in size over the past two years and “grew” big clusters of glowing glass panels at every site.
The largest alternative energy project in Mendocino Coast history is complete and fully operational, pumping power into every electrical meter in the district. The solar panels are constructed so they are nearly invisible from the ground, but they are the most striking feature of the schools and perhaps the town, from above. The arrays are mounted on top of what looks like parking structures most visibly in the parking lot of the Redwood Coast Senior Center. In other places, the panels provide shelter from the rain to students.
At times, the solar output will make electrical meters spin backwards.
“That would be mostly in the summer when there is no school and the solar energy is greatest,” said FBUSD Facilities Director John Griffiths. The photo voltaic solar project is expected to provide about one-third of the electrical power the district needs. The sunny winter has been good news for the district”s first solar-powered year.
“And when there were solar flares this year, that really increased the solar energy we were getting,” said Griffiths.
2012 is expected to see the most solar flares since 2002, possibly more than that year, astronomers say. The flares provide big surges in solar energy. Some panels, especially older ones can be damaged in heavy solar storms. The installation of 9,100 square feet of solar panels spread over every school site cost the district $3 million, which was raised in a 2008 local election.
“We used bond money to pay for that. We did not receive a grant, however we did get in on P.G.&E”s solar initiative, which pays us $0.32 per KWH for the next five years,” said Superintendent Don Armstrong.
“We estimate that will be approximately $200,000 per year over the next five years. So, the savings to the district will be the $200,000 plus approximately 35 percent of our electrical bill for the next five years,” Armstrong said.
The electrical savings could mean $100,000 or more annually for district coffers. Just how much is a big “if” right now. The district will be looking with anticipation at the first analysis of savings, which Griffiths hopes to have by the end of the school year.
” After five years, it will just be the electrical savings, which should increase as electrical rates go up. There is also a renewable energy credit that we get for operating the system, which may have value in future years,” said Armstrong.
While the constant fog and clouds of the coast cut deeply into the efficiency of solar panels, it actually helps with their longevity and maintenance, said Griffiths.
“The main enemy to solar panels is dust and grime accumulation, which gets washed off here,” Griffiths said.
The solar panels, like most in the industry provide low voltage (and thus safe) DC power, which is then converted to AC power, which then is connected to the power grid at the PG&E meter.
“The actual output varies from minute to minute depending on weather conditions, position of the sun,” Griffiths said.
Solar power output is available for each school site online.
For example, the Dana Gray system is found at
http://www.live.deckmonitoring.com/?id=Dana_Gray_Elementary_School
The site provides real time power generation figures, along with how many tons of CO2 has been saved at this one school as of Feb. 20 (24) and how many gallons of gasoline have been saved (2754).
The other schools can also be found online at http://www.live.deckmonitoring.com.
