Solar  -  March 25, 2020

Va., N.C., S.C. public schools to receive solar for power, education

Sixteen public institutions in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina will be receiving solar panels through the expansion of Dominion Energy’s Solar for Student Program.

The program first began in 2015 with the installation of solar at four public schools and has since expanded to a museum and 33 different schools. The full list of organizations selected for the newly expanded Solar for Students program includes:

• Advanced Career Education Center (ACE) at Highland Springs (Henrico County, VA)
• Bowen's Corner Elementary School (Berkeley County, SC)
• Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, Career Tech Academy (Halifax County, VA)
• C.S. Brown High School STEM (Hertford County, NC)
• Dinwiddie High School (Dinwiddie County, VA)
• Eau Claire High School (Richland County, SC)
• Gilbert High School (Lexington County, SC)
• Great Bridge Middle School (Chesapeake City, VA)
• Irmo High School (Lexington County, SC)
• Louisa Middle School (Louisa County, VA)
• New Horizons Regional Education Centers (Hampton, VA)
• Port Royal Sound Foundation (Beaufort County, SC)
• Quioccasin Middle School (Henrico County, VA)
• Riverside High School (Loudoun County, VA)
• Dent Middle School (Richland County, SC)
• Spratley Gifted Center/ Hampton City Schools (Hampton, VA)

Great Bridge Middle School became the first in Chesapeake, Va., to benefit from the program’s recent expansion, The Virginian-Pilot reported. The school will soon receive a 1.2 kW solar system that will be fitted outside the building on a support system that school administrators called a “solar panel on a stick”. 

“A big portion of my curriculum is about energy, especially with a focus on renewable energy resources and sustainability,” Traci Herrera, the Great Bridge Middle School science teacher who submitted the school’s application for the program, told The Virginian-Pilot. “I’m excited for my students to have this opportunity. I can’t wait to get my hands on the system and see how it works and participate in the different activities that hopefully my students can learn so much from.”

The solar energy generated from the system will be enough to power up to 18 desktop computers at the school and students will be able to monitor real-time data online to see how much electricity the array is generating. The National Energy Education Development program will also be responsible for providing technical support, coordinating installation, preparing educational materials for students and training the teachers.

The installation of the system will be delayed due to the closure of Virginia schools amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

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