Schools become hot spots for solar power

Florida schools have the Florida Solar Energy Center to thank for a new source of power.

"The solar electric systems, also known as photovoltaic systems, will provide power during outages, offset electricity costs to the school during normal operations and reduce greenhouse gases," assistant director of communications for the Florida Solar Energy Center, Sherri Shields, said.

As a UCF research institute, the Florida Solar Energy Center has been working with both small and large agencies, funding them through contracts and grants. One of them is the SunSmart E-Shelter program, funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided these photovoltaic systems to schools with a $10 million stimulus grant, Shields said.

Schools are able to apply for the grant through the program. To be eligible, the school must be a public school or college in Florida and a state-designated Enhanced Hurricane Protection Area shelter, according the Florida Solar Energy Center website.

"Ninety public schools in Florida have been competitively selected to participate in the SunSmart Schools E-Shelter program," Shields said. "Each participating school will receive a 10-kilowatt solar energy system with a battery back up, complete with installation."

The schools picked for this project were ranked based on demographics, emergency shelter needs, partnerships and existing renewable energy education and outreach plans, Shields said.

"Geneva Elementary administration applied through a grant to the SunSmart E-Shelter School program in April 2010," Tina Erwin, principal of Geneva Elementary, said. "The contractor contacted us in June 2011 and a site for the solar panels has been identified."

Geneva Elementary is one of the schools that has been provided with this project. Back in 2004 during the hurricanes, Geneva Elementary hosted about 150 people for several days and their temporary generator system kept malfunctioning, Erwin said. With the addition of new solar panels provided by this program, this will not happen again.

In the event that the school is being used for a shelter, similar to Geneva Elementary, the back up battery pack in each solar energy system will provide enough power for critical energy needs such as lighting, communications and essential medical equipment during a power outage, Shields said.

"As an emergency shelter site, the SunSmart solar panels will power the lights and convenience plugs in the cafeteria," Erwin said.

Energy curriculum workshops are available for not only teachers and students, but the public, as well. These workshops allow those attending to analyze the performance data that will be uploaded to www.EnergyWhiz.com. The program also provides operation and maintenance workshops for the facility managers at the schools, Shields said.

"Two teachers attended an informational session at UCF on March 8, 2011 regarding the Solar Energy project and are excited to share future information available to teachers and students," Erwin said.

Each school's photovoltaic system includes a data monitoring device that reports information to www.EnergyWhiz.com. Anyone with access to the Internet can view each school's electrical output and students can use their critical thinking skills to analyze data and compare their information with other schools, Shields said.