Solar arrays at four more schools in Augusta County, Virginia, are now complete and operational, bringing additional renewable energy to the Augusta County Public School (ACPS) system. The combined one-megawatt (MW) solar project on the four schools, originally spearheaded by two local high school students, was financed by Standard Solar, Inc. The system is expected to generate an average of 30% of the energy used by the schools.
The arrays, on the rooftops of Riverheads Elementary School, Riverheads High School, Wilson Elementary School and Wilson Middle School, are now generating power as the result of a strong project collaboration between ACPS, Dominion Energy, Secure Futures, and Standard Solar.
Secure Futures developed the project and provided the county with curriculum about solar energy that matches up with the state’s Standards of Learning. Standard Solar funded the project, which includes related educational opportunities for Secure Futures, and is responsible for long term system operation and maintenance, further minimizing the school district’s costs.
ACPS will save on their energy costs over the next 20 years by using solar energy, and the project didn’t require any up-front costs from the county. ACPS currently has 10,500 students enrolled in 18 schools.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s most recent data (Q2 2019), Virginia is the 18th largest solar state in the US, with 802.75 MW of solar installed. The state’s solar industry currently employs 3,890 workers and its solar growth projection and ranking exceed 2,900 MW over the next five years (ranks seventh).