SOLON brings affordable solar to schools

TUCSON, USA: SOLON Corp., one of the largest crystalline silicon solar manufacturers in the US and a fully owned subsidiary of SOLON SE, announced that it has more than 8.7 megawatt (MW) of solar energy projects in two Arizona school districts, including the largest K-12 rooftop system in the nation.

In addition to the 1.0 MW rooftop system that was commissioned in December, 2009, SOLON has been awarded an additional 5.0 MWs of projects for the Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD), and nearly 2.7 MWs of projects for the Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD).

Through these projects, SOLON helps the districts achieve renewable energy standards, offering clean, solar energy to offset peak load demands during optimal daylight hours. SOLON is also helping make going solar more affordable for these schools, offering solar service agreements (SSAs) for upcoming deployments.

Under an SSA, the school districts will avoid upfront system purchase costs by purchasing the power at a fixed rate directly from SOLON, hedging against future electricity rate increases. Having SOLON as the owner also ensures the operation and maintenance meets the highest in service standards.

For DVUSD, SOLON designed and supported the construction and maintenance of the 1.0 MW photovoltaic implementation, which is set on a fixed-tilt roof mounted system. DVUSD has also awarded 5.0 MW of solar power to be delivered via an SSA from SOLON Corporation, scheduled to begin installation in June, 2010.

Once completed, estimates suggest these systems will offset more than 7,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, which would have been produced using many traditional fossil fuels.

PVUSD is relying on SOLON Corporation to deploy more than 2.7 MW of solar energy on high schools in their region. These projects are scheduled to begin installation in May, 2010. SOLON will engineer, procure and construct the systems, in addition to manufacturing the UL-certified solar modules at its Tucson-based manufacturing facility.

Through the SSA, SOLON will run the operation and maintenance of PVUSD’s systems. For all of these projects, SOLON is working with APS, the local utility, which offers its own Renewable Energy Incentive Program in order to provide funds for clean tech investments at publicly funded K-12 schools. Both the DVUSD and PVUSD solar systems are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.