Urban Grid’s Post

#SolarPower #WestVirginia "CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An entire county school system in coal-producing West Virginia is going solar, representing what a developer and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office touted on Wednesday as the biggest-ever single demonstration of sun-powered renewable electricity in Appalachian public schools. The agreement between Wayne County Schools and West Virginian solar installer and developer Solar Holler builds on historic investments in coal communities made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democratic Sen. Manchin had a major role in shaping as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. ... Through changes to tax code, the legislation included incentives for projects placed in coal communities including Wayne County; new financing options to increase investment in energy infrastructure; and funding to boost domestic manufacturing of energy technologies. The solar installation is the latest school-related green energy project to come to the state with the help of a Biden administration-era spending package. Next month, Canadian-based electric bus manufacturer GreenPower Motor Co. Inc. — which recently opened a manufacturing facility in West Virginia’s capital — is scheduled to deliver the state’s first electric school buses to four county school districts. ... Wayne County’s project represents the largest power purchase agreement ever signed in West Virginia, and is expected to save the school system $6.5 million over the course of the 25-year agreement, according to the developer. In 2021, the GOP-dominated state Legislature passed a law facilitating solar deployment in the historically fossil fuel-dependent state. The law legalized power purchase agreements, which allows entities such as the Wayne County Schools to purchase energy generated by Solar Holler-owned systems without upfront capital investment. ... Wayne County Schools Superintendent Todd Alexander said the anticipated financial impact of the project, set to be completed in 2025, is enough to fund the salaries of three additional teachers for the duration of their careers. “Transitioning to solar power resonates beyond economics — it’s a commitment to nurturing our students and community,” he said in a statement. The schools are currently powered by American Electric Power, one of the nation’s largest electricity generators. As of 2022, the company depended on coal for 41% of its power generation, compared with 23% for hydroelectricity, wind, solar and pumped storage. In 2005, the company utilized coal for 70% of its power generation, and renewables for 4%. ... All together, up to 10,000 solar panels are expected to deliver as much as 5.33 Megawatts of power to Wayne County Schools each year. Solar Holler estimates the first schools to be solarized in early 2024 and the others to go online on a rolling basis in the following 12 to 18 months."

“Community solar is undoubtedly beneficial for labor: We will have more jobs for folks in this state and more economic activity in communities that desperately need it… The Pennsylvania State Building Trades supports an all-of-the-above energy policy for Pennsylvania, with community solar as another tool in our tool belts to help the environment, create jobs, spur economic development and help create a sustainable energy policy for all of Pennsylvania. I urge the legislature to not miss this opportunity and to act to get this legislation done.” - Robert Bair, President of the Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council. https://lnkd.in/eFxA2sXx #solar #renewables #energy #solarenergy #renewableenergy #cleanenergy #solarpower #GETSolar

As a result of installing solar panels in a 7-school district in Batesville, Arkansas, teachers got a $15 000 per year, pay rise EACH, as well as lowering school energy bills from $17 000 to $4000 per month (on average). They are also developing and rolling out a renewable energy programme for learners to get involved in understanding, monitoring and evaluating the energy use of the panels. Late last year, the Irish government announced a School Photovoltaic Programme to fund up to 6 kWp of roof-mounted solar PV. This is going to rollout on a phased basis, and schools will be able to lower energy bills and sell back to the grid. I don't think we will be seeing any leaps in salaries here, but it will be interesting to see how the Phase 1 schools get on in terms of cost cutting and revenue raising. #RenewableEnergy #SolarPanels Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications Department of Education — Ireland https://lnkd.in/ewgGhtBA

The DOE's 2024 Renew America's Schools Prize allocates $180 million for K-12 energy upgrades, prioritizing disadvantaged communities. Winners receive cash prizes and enter agreements with DOE. Aimed at lowering costs and improving air quality, it supports Biden's infrastructure plan and the Justice40 Initiative. Applications close June 13. #RenewAmericasSchools #DOE #Infrastructure #Justice40

Under a 20-year contract, the district, serving Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth-grade students across two separate school campuses, anticipates saving over $22,000 annually. #JLLgovernment #government #governmenttrends #futureofwork

There are massive potential benefits to enabling schools to become electricity suppliers, both for their own use and for their surrounding communities. With a good policy framework, schools can deploy solar PV + storage resources and microgrid systems to reduce their own energy costs, generate revenues to mitigate the constant budget challenges they face, and create curricula to educate their students about clean energy technologies. It's truly a no-brainer. Just gotta get the monopoly-protecting barriers out of the way. Democratization of energy is the future.

🌟 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄'𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲: 𝗗𝗢𝗘 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 $𝟰𝟬.𝟴𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆! 🚀💡 The 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 is investing $𝟰𝟬.𝟴 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, courtesy of the 𝗯𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄, to boost workforce training for in-demand clean energy jobs and enhance energy efficiency. The initiative includes the establishment of 17 industrial assessment centers (IACs) and 10 building training and assessment centers (BTACs) across 25+ states and territories. 🛠️ 🅺🅴🆈 🅷🅸🅶🅷🅻🅸🅶🅷🆃🆂: - IACs will provide technical assistance and assessments for small- and medium-sized manufacturers, aiming to train over 3,000 students and workers for quality careers. - BTACs, hosted by esteemed educational institutions, will offer practical training for students and union apprentices, identifying energy-saving opportunities in commercial and institutional buildings. - Aligns with the Biden administration’s Justice40 commitment, with 75% of awards directed to organizations serving disadvantaged communities. 🚀 🄸🄼🄿🄰🄲🅃🄵🅄🄻 🄾🄿🄿🄾🅁🅃🅄🄽🄸🅃🄸🄴🅂: - Diverse pathways to clean energy careers through community colleges, trade schools, and labor unions. - Scholarships, job placement assistance, and mentorship networks provided by selected institutions. - 50% of organizations recognized for serving an especially high percentage of students from minority groups. 🌎 Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy, shares: "𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺-𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦." 📅 🆆🅷🅰🆃'🆂 🅽🅴🆇🆃: - DOE plans further expansion of the IAC network in community colleges, trade schools, and union training programs. - Next funding opportunity to be announced in early 2024. Written: Joe Burns 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴. ░A░r░e░ ░y░o░u░ ░r░e░a░d░y░?░ #CleanEnergy #WorkforceDevelopment #Sustainability #Innovation #DOEInvestment

We are proud to fuel transformative shifts in communities. We see solar as more than just energy—it's a catalyst for progress. By empowering organizations to redirect funds from operating costs into resourcing their core missions, we're lighting up futures one panel at a time. Dive deeper into the enlightening journey with us and The Oklahoman⤵️ https://lnkd.in/gcNMPCym

Read my latest op-ed on the huge economic benefits that rural communities are seeing from utility scale solar projects Ohio Capital Journal