Alta Energy Delivers Cost Savings to California Public Schools with Solar on Portable Classrooms

Poway Unified School District will save $250,000 per year in
electricity costs

SAN MATEO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#EdLeaders—Alta
Energy, a leading renewable energy analytics and procurement
services provider, announced today that it has completed the
installation of solar power systems at 14 campuses across California’s Poway
Unified School District (PUSD). Alta Energy installed a total of 632
kilowatts (kW) on 65 of PUSD’s standard 24 by 40 feet relocatable,
portable classrooms. Financed through a power purchase agreement (PPA)
with no out-of-pocket costs to the district, the project reduces PUSD’s
electricity expenses by nearly 15 percent and will save the district
$250,000 per year.

The project is unique in its approach of installing solar panels on the
roofs of the portable classroom buildings at each campus. Installing
solar on these buildings enables the use of standardized designs that
are quicker, less expensive and less disruptive to install than more
conventional designs such as solar parking canopies. There are an
estimated 80,000 such buildings in the California public school system,
representing about 30 percent of all K-12 classrooms in the state.

The installations enable PUSD to switch to a more favorable electric
rate from its utility, San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). In
California, major utilities offer solar-friendly rates with lower demand
charges as a benefit to customers who install solar power systems. For
schools, switching to these rates can dramatically cut electricity
bills, since demand charges often represent more than half of a school’s
electricity bill. Prior to installing solar at these campuses, demand
charges constituted 65 percent of PUSD’s electricity bills. After the
project, those charges were reduced to only 30 percent of the total bill.

“Placing solar on our relocatable classrooms and switching to SDG&E’s
solar-friendly rate is going to yield significant savings for the
district,” said Chad Koster, director of facilities at Poway Unified
School District. “We are always looking for innovative ways to cut
operating costs. This project will enable us to do that and have a
positive environmental impact at the same time.”

Energy bills are a significant financial burden for schools in
California. California public schools spend about $700 million per year
on energy, which is comparable with their budget for books and supplies.
By installing relatively small solar power systems that generate only 10
to 20 percent of their total electricity consumption, schools can switch
to solar-friendly rates that often provide dramatic energy bill
reductions.

“The Poway solar project is based on a different strategy than most
solar projects at schools,” said Marc Roper, chief commercial officer of
Alta Energy. “Instead of maximizing the amount of solar power generation
per campus with custom, one-off system designs, we used a cookie-cutter
approach to install solar on existing portable classrooms. This provides
PUSD just enough solar to trigger an electric utility rate switch,
allowing the district to save significantly, while minimizing risk and
impact on the district’s operations. It’s a great model with broad
applicability, as these portable classrooms can be found in virtually
every school district in the state.”

Representatives from PUSD and Alta Energy will elaborate on PUSD’s
sustainability projects at the Green
California School Summit in Pasadena, California on November 29th
on a panel titled “Tackling Demand Charges Strategically with Solar and
Storage at PUSD.” They will be joined by Stephen Kelley, senior vice
president of Green
Charge, to discuss PUSD’s solar and energy storage projects and
share best practices for other school districts to realize savings on
their electricity bills.

About Alta Energy

Alta Energy provides comprehensive analytics, strategic advice and
procurement services for companies looking to become more sustainable
and profitable through the use of renewable energy. Alta Energy partners
with its customers to deliver holistic solutions that are both
technology and service neutral, representing their customers’ best
interests and enabling them to achieve the environmental and economic
benefits of renewable energy. For more information, please visit www.alta-energy.com.

Contacts

Alta Energy
Ryan Higgins, 650-489-1377
[email protected]