Driving up to Plainfield Elementary in Woodland, CA on a fall day was like driving into an energy oasis in the middle of agricultural heartland. The earth surrounding the school had been tilled awaiting the next set of crops, but in the middle of plots of land, an elementary school was sewing different seeds within the hearts, minds, and souls of their students: a new solar seed and the structure for a greenhouse had sprung up almost overnight with the support of the PG&E Solar Schools Program…but we know the school has been cultivating their garden for many years. We were there to celebrate their latest additions, and look forward to the future.

Principal Barajas spoke with passion and conviction as she discussed her school’s vision, and her team of wonderful teachers, parents, and community members that sustain the efforts of Plainfield Elementary- a “Small School” with “Big Expectations”… Nancy McFadden, Vice President of Governmental Relations spoke on behalf of PG&E, and recognized the true solar champions of Woodland. Plainfield students created and recited essays in their own words, and we all had a sense of what this school and students would continue to create. After the event, we walked over to Plainfield’s inner garden where sun tea, solar cookies, and a bevy of plants and students greeted us. We expect to continue to have our own expectations exceeded, and we look forward to the next set of crops.

I could smell the chocolate on the student’s hand as he came up to grab a solar pencil. His friend next to him had a gooey marshmellow smeared across his face. Obviously, there is nothing like a solar s’more on a nice sunny day in Oakland, especially if you received it from a solar cooking expert at Glenview Elementary.

The whole school turned out last Friday, October 20th, to celebrate their induction to the PG&E Solar Schools Family. And let me tell you, the students and staff at Glenview really know how to throw a party! In addition to the solar s’mores, there were solar art projects, solar demonstartions, and plenty of community leaders to enjoy the festivities. Representatives from the Oakland Unified School District, A representative from the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Oakland’s Vice Mayor Jean Quan attended the event. All were treated to a solar tour given by 4th grade students.

PG&E Vice President of Civic Partnerships and Community Initiatives, Ophelia Basgal had the opportunity to play “Solar Claus” by presenting the school with an additional $2,500 Bright Ideas grant to purchase new computers so that the students could access the data being produced by their new solar panel, and compare it with others across California. The kids and community were having so much fun, they even stayed a bit after school to soak up all of the excitement…and dream a few new solar dreams.

Story submitted by Karalee Browne

Last week was an exciting week for solar in California, especially for our solar school projects in California. Solar Power 2006 was held in San Jose, and thousands (over 7,000!) of people came from around the country (and world) to learn about the latest and greatest solar technologies in practice…as well as those soon headed our way. Below are some of the highlights from this exciting weeklong event.

NEED held a PG&E Solar Schools Program teacher training workshop on October 18th, and had teachers from around California. PG&E, in support of this internationally attended conference, also provided free training (including NEED’s hands-on solar kits/curricula, which is provided to all teachers trained through the PG&E Solar Schools Program) for some folks outside of California as well. We had visitors from Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and even Brazil attend or simply drop in to see the teachers in action!

As a part of this workshop, at a special luncheon ceremony, PG&E announced the 30 schools selected to receive the “PV on a stick” 1kW solar electric system.

• San Mateo County Youth Services Campus, San Mateo
• Pescadero Middle School, Pescadero
• Lakeshore Elementary School, San Francisco
• Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, San Francisco
• A.P. Giannini Middle School, San Francisco
• Frank McCoppin Elementary School, San Francisco
• Presidio Middle School, San Francisco
• Balboa High School, San Francisco
• Life Learning Academy Charter, San Francisco
• East Palo Alto Charter, East Palo Alto
• Oakland High School, Oakland
• Mount Diablo High School, Concord
• Rosa Parks Environmental Science Magnet, Berkeley
• Peralta Elementary School, Oakland
• Highland Elementary School, Seaside
• Gilroy High School, Gilroy
• Alice Shaw Elementary School, Santa Maria
• Pacheco Elementary School, San Luis Obispo
• Farmington Elementary School, Farmington
• Fairview Elementary School, Orland
• Eugene Padan Elementary School, Vacaville
• South Fork High School, Miranda
• Weitchpec Elementary School, Hoopa
• Lucerne Elementary School, Lucerne
• Arena Union Elementary School, Point Arena
• South Fortuna Elementary School, Fortuna
• Terrace Heights School, Lakeport
• Orleans Elementary School, Orleans
• Burrel Union Elementary School, Burrel

PG&E also announced the 18 schools chosen to receive up to $5,000 in “Bright Ideas” grants for their innovative solar science projects.

• Partnership for Student Success in Science School, Mountain View
• Island Elementary School, Lemoore
• San Francisco School of the Arts, San Francisco
• Plainfield Elementary School, Woodland
• Mattole Valley Charter School Dunes of Discovery, Arcata
• San Lorenzo High School, San Lorenzo
• Redway Elementary School, Redway
• Arroyo Seco Elementary, Livermore
• Foothill Middle School, Prather
• Redwood Middle School, Napa
• El Dorado Elementary School, Stockton
• KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy, San Francisco
• Dover Middle School, Fairfield
• Mission Springs Outdoor Education, Scotts Valley
• Yick Wo Alternative Elementary School, San Francisco
• Freedom Middle School, Bakersfield
• Independence School, Stockton
• Del Mar High School, San Jose

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council announced the winners of their annual awards at a special awards ceremony on October 16th. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council awarded the Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Solar Schools Program the IREC Annual Innovation award for 2006. Each year, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council recognizes organizations that have implemented innovative projects during the past year that promote and accelerate the adoption of renewable energy technologies. This is the second award PG&E has received this year for their Solar Schools Program. The Solar Schools Program was also named the “Education Innovator of the Year” by the San Francisco Business Times for designing and implementing a highly successful program to train teachers, inform students and generate interest in the critical role that renewable resources play in meeting California’s energy needs. The award was presented to the company at the fifth annual Northern California Grantmakers Corporate Philanthropy Summit and Awards in San Francisco on July 20, 2006. Incindentally, PG&E also received an Award from the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). This is the second time in two years that PG&E has received SEPA’s Solar Business Achievement in the category of public awareness and industry leadership. This is also the first time SEPA has honored any company with a “repeat” award.

Gov. Schwarzenegger closed the conference on the 19th with the launch of Go Solar California Web Site, and he took the opportunity to tout California’s Leadership on Solar Power…we can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2007 in California!

And…for those of you from other states, we can’t wait to see you grow as well. Let solar power, renewables, and overall energy awareness proliferate for all…

The Holmes Elementary School in Mesa, AZ, has a pole-mounted solar electricity system facing south and generating electricity for the school. It is a 1 kW system and it is tied to the Salt River Project (SRP) power grid. For every watt of electricity generated by this solar electricity or photovoltaic (PV) system, it is one less watt the school will buy from SRP. But the primary purpose of this system is not to reduce the electric bill for the school. The primary purpose of this project is to use solar electricity as a teaching tool to help improve the students’ understanding of science and math.The project took several months from the original idea to scheduling the ribbon cutting, but it did not take too long. The process gave the students, teachers, and the school administration time to figure out a number of ways to integrate the solar electricity into the classrooms. It was a team effort and the teamwork paid off.

“We could have hurried the project, but there was no reason to rush it. We felt it was important that our entire school be involved in the process, and while nothing is perfect, we have gone a long way toward keeping everyone connected to the project,” said Principal Darlene Johnson. “We also want our neighbors to understand what we are doing and our parents and our local community leaders. Our school is at the center of the neighborhood and it is important to bring everyone into the process when we make significant changes, and this is definitely a new direction for us. Our school is now generating part of its own electricity. How many schools can say that?”

Katie Herring with SRP’s Environmental Initiatives department sees the working solar electricity system as only the first step in the process. “SRP has developed a renewable energy curriculum designed to go hand in hand with the solar installation. Providing a real world application of solar at the school will help connect and develop critical math, science and engineering skills for these students. This is such a great project from so many perspectives.”

Most of the electricity used at the school will continue to come from SRP power plants and flow to the school through the system of interconnected wires that makes up part of the US electric power grid.

According to Rick Michalek, Operations Director for the Mesa Public School District, “This is primarily an educational project. It will reduce Holmes’ electric bill by a small percentage, but everyone involved in this project understands it is intended to make science and math a little more real for the students and the teachers at the school. They will gain some valuable first hand knowledge of solar power production, which in turn may motivate them to learn more about alternative energy sources and energy conservation. I think that the wireless monitor is a great visual aid to enhance the learning experience. The students can observe the power production of the panel in real time, and use the recorded data to make historical comparisons and generate reports”.

Guadalupe, a fifth grade student in Mrs. Wilson’s class writes: What I think as a kid and student of Holmes Elementary is that the solar panel looks great and I believe other people will think that it’s a school doing very artistic and visionary kinds of projects. I also think it will be good for other students of Holmes Elementary to tell their perspective of the solar project. It would be good because the students of Holmes Elementary will learn about how natural energy comes from the sun. They’ll know that here in Arizona it is always sunny so it is a good place to have solar panels.

Elisabeth, a sixth grade student in Mr. Gibson’s class writes: As a student I think that the solar panel is a good idea for each staff member and student. As each student gets to know more about the solar panel, it will make perfect sense to them.

Principal Johnson writes: Teachers at Holmes Elementary are excited about the “real life” experiences the solar panel brings to our site. A field trip to the west side of campus provides lessons in science and math. This first hand experience with solar energy will open doors for our creative students to many possible alternative energy resources. The solar panel will “spark” the imagination and “peak” the interest of our students.

Solar collectors with roof lines pitched to maximize the sun’s rays were just part of the plan of the architect’s vision when New Century Development sprang up in Vernon Hills in the late 70’s. In just a few years, after the placement of the collectors, they were removed because the cost to keep the collectors repaired was in excess of the energy trade off they created. We’ve come a long way since then, and Vernon Hills is once again pursuing a solar path.

Thanks to the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation and Commonwealth Edison and the Foundation for Environmental Education, Vernon Hills and more specifically, Hawthorn North Middle School once again has the opportunity to educate students of the promise that solar with the installation of a 1kW photovoltaic system. This installation was on the roof of their school.

Early on it was decided to involve students in the actual planning stages of the installation when the school staff met with the contractor, Dave Merrill for the project. After learning about the principles of solar technology from Dave the students helped decide where the system would go after they toured the roof. To their surprise they were invited to help out on the project.

Late in July of 2006 our students arrived at the school to help install the panels.

You’re walking past a school, and you see a blue square on top of a pole…what is this strange sight? Did a piece of a satellite get installed as a science art project on the school campus? A passing student tells you it makes solar power…but how? How does a pole plug into the sun?

Here’s a glimpse into the physical process of how a pole mounted photovoltaic system is plugged into the sun. Thanks very much to Ben Scurfield of Scurfield Solar for providing this account of a solar installation.  In future posts we’ll talk about electricity, and how a solar electric system actually makes power.

A Site within Sight
Sites are selected based on: proximity to educational centers or other “green/environmental” areas of the school campus; solar access (our energy seed needs good sunlight much like a plant that wants full sun); and ease of “plugging in to the sun” (this includes tying in to the local school electrical system and the PG&E meter). Plugging in isn’t always as easy as it looks… It doesn’t happen over night, but after a series of site visits with all the decision makers at the school and our design team, site specific design documents are finalized, and the actual installation process takes about a week.

The first part of the job is to dig the hole. Before anyone digs a hole – on a school or even in their own home – they can check with Underground Service Alert (USA) – http://www.pge.com/safety/call_before_you_dig/. The school maintenance and custodial staff often has this information as well. It’s very important that we make sure that the hole and trenches aren’t going to collide into any gas lines, electrical, sewer, water or underground tanks.

At Sunny Brae Elementary, Scurfield Solar dug and plugged the school into the sun. We think every solar installer is like an art installation artist – they listen to the school, the design team, and then it’s their job to work within code and guidelines to plug the art into the school building (powered by the sun). Here’s how it happened in Arcata.

Cool Tools
They rented a Bobcat excavator for the hole drilling. They also rented a giant drill bit (called an auger) attachment for the Bobcat. Half the fun of this process is all the great equipment! Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but…we think an auger is a pretty cool looking tool…and very useful.

This made the job much quicker and cleaner than trying to use a backhoe…let alone a bunch of shovels! This saves the backs of our solar installers so they can be ready for future installations. The next job was to dig the trench for the conduit. This job was made easy by the use of a walk behind trencher. This machine saved Ben’s already sore back and provided a uniform depth and width trench. The pole utilized for the installation was picked up at a local plumbing supply store, put on Scurfield Solar’s trailer, and taken to the machine shop to have cut to the right size. The pipe was then delivered to the site where it was put in the hole and leveled. Scurfield Solar used the bobcat bucket and some tow straps to pick up the pipe and deposit it in the hole. Before they did this, they drilled two holes in the bottom of the pipe and inserted two pieces of rebar. Next a wooden form was made to hold the pole plumb and electrical conduit was laid in the trench and up the pole. It was then time for the concrete. A concrete truck came and dumped a small bed of rocks for drainage and concrete in the hole. After a few days, the form was ready to come off.

The trench for the conduit was also filled. Next came the really challenging part. They started by laying the racking pieces out on the ground to make sure everything was square before they put them up on the pole. These are like the branches of our solar tree.

The next job was to install the inverter. It was mounted on the pole using some big clamps that grabbed the pole. There was also a disconnect switch and a electrical meter on the pole. The wire was run from the inverter and back to the electrical panel on the side of the building. The finishing touches on the system were the data monitoring system. The PV system actually talks through the internet through a series of translators (well, we think it’s easier to conceive of them as translators anyway). The data is sent to a database where it is organized in a common format, and then visualized. The hardware is pretty straightforward – each pole has a box on the pole for the wires of various data sensors to come into. This consisted of an ambient temperature probe, a solar panel temperature probe and a pyronometer. Wire was run from this box to another box in the building. This box was hooked to the computer and with a little magic, the data is sent for all to view.