Email this story Print this story Archives

A Bright Idea: Elko High student plans solar project with district

By JOHN SENTS - Staff Writer
Thursday, August 21, 2008 6:51 PM PDT

Eagle Scout Zack Finley proposes to do a solar panel project with the Elko County School District similar to the one seen here at the Elko Presbyterian Church. (Ross Andreson/Elko Daily Free Press)

ELKO - Elko High School sophomore Zach Finley, 15, has a bright idea to save the school district a buck or two.

The Eagle Scout recently proposed to the Elko County School Board a plan to harvest the sun's power through solar panels placed on the roof of a school building.

Using data from the district and Northside Elementary School, Finley estimated a solar setup with 500 panels could reduce the school's energy bill by $11,727 per year in 2006 rates. He estimated it would cost the district about $39,000 to install the panels at Northside - after rebates for using the “green” technology are applied.

If Finley's estimates hold true, the long-term savings could be substantial.

“Fuel costs and electrical costs are not going to decrease any time soon, if at all,” said Finley. “This technology is here to stay and probably will go up in cost due to demand of customers. I realize the (district's) budget has been cut and I feel that this is one way to help in the long run some of the financial woes of the Elko County School District.”

The school district plans to meet with Finley to discuss the project further. Some initial concerns from school board trustees include safety requirements for a double throw breaker that would protect the balance of the system during outages; the ability of a school roof, such as Northside's, to support solar panels; whether the panels would generate enough power on overcast days; and maintenance costs.

Northside has suffered recent vandalism, and some also expressed concern the panels might be vandalized.

Trustees also asked where the money would come from. Finley suggested the district utilize its Pay As You Go construction funds for the project.

Jeff Zander, the district's assistant superintendent of finance, said the cost is probably allowable under Pay As You Go funds, but he would have to verify that is the case. He said the district would have to amend its five-year capital improvement plan to accommodate the project.

Superintendent Antoinette Cavanaugh suggested the district might be able to utilize the district's operations and maintenance fund.

If the right rebates were available, such as those offered through Black Rock City Solar, the cost to the district could be substantially minimized.

Black Rock Solar, a project of the group that puts on the Burning Man festival, paid all of the costs for a 90 kilowatt solar project at two schools in Gerlach that came on line in March, said Bruce Deetken, the Washoe County School District's energy manager.

The Washoe district also installed a 60 kilowatt solar system in June at its Natchez Elementary School. With rebates applied, that system cost Washoe approximately $60,000, far below the total estimated cost of $600,000 for this type of system, Deetken said.

Deetken said the district utilized rebates from Sierra Pacific Power along with Black Rock to pay for its solar projects.

The solar project saved the two Gerlach Schools roughly $6,000 in energy costs through the first four months of use, Deetken said.

“They are completely successful projects,” he said. “We are going to use this at other schools in the future.”

He recommended Elko's district look into potential partnerships with Black Rock.

“We started making money as soon as they flipped the switch,” Deetken said. “What they are really doing is trying to help out rural communities that need a little extra help.”

He said the maintenance costs are estimated at about $1,100 a year for the Gerlach schools. Actual maintenance work is minimal, he said.

The solar panels do not generate as much electricity on overcast days, Deetken said, only supplying about 20 to 25 percent of the schools' power needs as opposed to an estimated 75 percent on sunny days.

However, the panels feed electricity into Sierra Pacific's power grid when school is not in session and more energy is collected than used. Sierra Pacific provides the schools with an energy credit for this electricity, which offsets the cost of supplying the school's traditionally powered electricity needs, Deetken said.

The schools used a ground-mount system for the solar panels with a six-foot chain link fence to deter vandals, he said.

If the Elko County School District pursued this type of project and put the panels on the roof, it would have to be on roofs that face to the south and have an appropriate angle.

In addition to Northside, Finley said Grammar No. 2, Mountain View, Spring Creek Elementary and Elko High School have large south facing roof areas that might work for this type of project.

Besides helping the district, Finley's project might benefit his personal goals as well. He used the solar topic for his science project last year and this will help him meet scouting requirements. He is submitting his work for a conservation award.

“The Elko County School District should follow what Washoe County School District has already started,” Finley said.

By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy.

**Your Member ID and password will be required to log in. Your comments will appear under your user name.