By Ellie Wilkoff

School districts face a unique challenge: supporting positive outcomes for students and teachers while managing aging buildings, changing enrollment, and increasing utility costs. Electricity has become one of the most unpredictable and daunting budget items for schools, driven by rising demand on the grid and double-digit electricity rate increases in many regions.

To address rising energy costs, an increasing number of educational institutions are adopting on-site solar power as a long-term, strategic solution. This enables schools to stabilize operating budgets, better meet sustainability commitments, and reinvest savings into educational priorities.

Hedging Energy Costs with Predictable Power

Unlike other budget expenses, energy costs can fluctuate constantly because of differences in fuel prices, infrastructure constraints, and regional demand. K-12 schools across states like Georgia have experienced steep, ongoing rate hikes that are outpacing inflation. Even with proper planning for these potential impacts, school districts continue to experience significant strain, forcing them to consider alternative options.

On-site solar power enables schools to offset a significant portion of their electricity use and insulates budgets from future utility rate increases. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, schools with on-site solar can reduce electricity costs by 20% to 40%, depending on system size and energy usage patterns. For districts managing dozens of facilities, those savings can add up quickly. For example, this is especially beneficial during hot summer afternoons when grid power is most expensive, because the solar power system produces energy when grid demand peaks.

Solar Without the Upfront Cost

Historically, concerns about capital investment and technical maintenance kept school districts from adopting solar. But today, third-party ownership models, such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), or Solar Energy Procurement Agreements (SEPAs) in Georgia, have become the preferred path for schools. Through these long-term energy agreements, schools can lock in steady electricity pricing for 20 to 30 years, creating budget certainty that supports better financial planning. By adopting this model, the solar providers design, install, own, and maintain the system. The schools pay only for the energy produced on site, which is often cheaper than utility-supplied power.

The model offers many benefits for schools, including eliminating upfront capital costs and shifting operational and performance risk away from the school. It also helps districts avoid the intricacy and staffing demands that have sometimes accompanied traditional energy-service contracts (ESCOs).

ESCO projects often require active district involvement, including additional fees, and rely on savings estimates that can be overshadowed by rapid year-over-year increases in utility rates. In

contrast, third-party solar energy agreements are preferred because they reduce reliance on utility-supplied electricity and provide transparent, fixed pricing per kilowatt-hour produced. These agreements are easy to track through monthly bills and are directly tied to actual energy production.

Rooftops, Canopies and Smart Design

Rooftop solar, a system of solar panels installed on the roof of a building to generate electricity for the building, remains the most cost-effective and widely recommended option for most K-12 schools. Today’s modern systems are commonly designed using non-penetrating mounting systems, helping schools maintain roof warranties and meet facility standards.

When roof space is limited or when a school wants added value, such as shaded parking or walkway coverage, solar canopies offer an excellent alternative. These canopies are structures with solar panels mounted on top. While they often carry higher upfront costs compared to rooftop arrays, they help maximize generation in limited spaces and can provide additional value to campus operations, such as shade and weather protection.

Schools planning new construction or upcoming roof replacements can unlock significant long-term benefits by incorporating solar considerations from day one. This includes leaving adequate roof space for panels, engaging a solar provider early in the design process, and planning for additional electrical equipment. Taking these steps upfront helps avoid costly retrofits.

Strengthening Community Connection and Student Engagement

Apart from economic benefits, solar installations create visible proof of a school’s commitment to sustainability and energy stewardship. As sustainability factors increasingly influence school-choice decisions, on-site solar projects can become a source of pride and an asset for building community trust and reputation.

Solar installations also create more educational opportunities for students and guardians. Schools can incorporate solar into their curriculum by using real-time energy data in math and science classes, hosting classroom presentations on renewable energy, and using solar systems as hands-on learning tools for STEM education.

Reinvesting Savings Towards Students

For many, the most compelling impact of solar is what schools can do with the energy cost savings. Reduced energy expenses allow schools to allocate their budgets toward instructional programs, technology upgrades, facility improvements, and student services.

Schools have used energy cost savings from on-site solar to:

• Expand STEM and career-readiness programs.
• Invest in classroom equipment and structural framework.
• Support extracurricular activities.
• Address repairs without cutting instructional courses.

By lowering fixed operating costs, solar enables schools to stretch their budget without raising tuition or diverting funds from instruction.

Solar as a Long-Term Strategy

Energy demand continues to rise, fueled by regional grid constraints, data center expansions, and overall increasing electrification. Solar is becoming a foundational element of K-12 infrastructure strategy. Future-focused schools are integrating solar into new construction projects, roof replacements, and long-term capital improvement plans to maximize value and minimize disruption.

Rather than a one-off sustainability initiative, solar is becoming a standard tool for economic durability and operational functionality.

From the Rooftop Into the Classroom

Cherry Street Energy works with schools and school districts in Georgia. Schools like Atlanta International School, Woodward Academy, Stratford Academy, and the Friends School of Atlanta have benefited from Cherry Street’s model not only in a spreadsheet, but in the classroom as well. Cherry Street’s model enables schools to add more solar power systems to their facilities, and allows educators to leverage the company’s expertise with students. Team members from Cherry Street frequently collaborate with teachers and administrators to help their students and communities to learn more about solar energy.

“This initiative provides both environmental leadership and crucial financial protection for our school’s future,” said Kevin Glass, head of school at Atlanta International School. “By hedging against rising energy costs while supporting our sustainability goals, we’re ensuring that our resources can continue to focus on delivering world-class education to our students.”

Ellie Wilkoff is Utility Data Manager at Cherry Street Energy.

The post From Classrooms to Canopies: Why Solar Is the Smart Choice for K-12 appeared first on ���سԹ�.

The post From Classrooms to Canopies: Why Solar Is the Smart Choice for K-12 appeared first on ���سԹ�.

Nationwide 4.4 percent of schools have a solar installation and nearly 3.9 million students attend one of these schools, according to the latest report from the Solar Foundation. Since 2014, the amount of solar installed at schools has nearly doubled, totaling 910 megawatts (MWs) of capacity across 5,489 K-12 schools in the United States. This growth demonstrates increasing engagement in the massive potential solar has to help schools save on energy bills, reduce overhead costs and free up cash in annual operating budgets.

But for schools, going solar means more than just money saved. In addition to economic benefits, solar enables a range of educational and social opportunities for the school and surrounding community.

First though, because they are significant and typically the initial selling point, it’s important to explore the economic benefits that schools can expect from solar. Reducing energy costs is the main bullet point in a school’s argument to go solar. Whether a school decides to put solar on its buildings to consume directly, off-set its electricity use with clean energy through virtual net metering or community solar or do a combination of the two – the school should anticipate a significant reduction in energy costs, either by directly consuming the power its systems produce, or by selling the solar power to the grid to cancel out some of its costs. To give a recent example, Pine River-Backus and Pequot Lakes school districts in Minnesota announced that its initial savings estimates of $20,000 – $25,000 a year were conservative for its 1. MW portfolio of on-site solar systems.

The stabilization of energy prices over time is another major bonus. Now that school systems are able to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs), or energy contracts with a developer, schools have the opportunity to not only deflect most or all of the upfront costs of installing a solar system, they can also lock in energy prices through long-term contracts for up to 15-20 years at a time, avoiding volatility in retail prices over time. Through a PPA, the school pays the developer or independent power producer for energy consumed, at a rate that’s typically less than what a utility would charge. The developer funds the solar system based on those revenues and can monetize federal tax credits, while the school skirts upfront costs and pays a reduced and reliable electrical bill. Schools considering a PPA should work with an experienced independent power producer that will also take care of system design, finance and long-term operation.

Both cost savings and stability equate to significant benefits effecting a school’s bottom line. The U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergySmart Schools report shows that, at more than $8 billion spent each year, energy costs represent the highest expense for K-12 schools, after personnel costs. Because schools typically operate under fixed budgets, cutting energy costs can free up space in the budget for more teachers, educational materials, extracurricular programs and more.

But direct economic benefits aren’t the only important advantages for schools to consider. These days, it’s hard to find an educational institution without students that are advocating for pro-environmental action, whether to elected officials for policy changes or to school leaders for implementation. It’s clear that sustainability is a priority for students, from the east to the west, and from the elementary to university level. Solar gives schools a way to take action toward their students’ values while securing a strong differentiator. For students and guardians making decisions about schools, solar can set apart schools that show credible commitment to renewable energy and green values from those that don’t.

Additionally, solar offers schools endless on-site career-prep and training opportunities for students at every grade and income level. During construction, schools have the unique chance to invite developers, contractors, financiers, engineers and even marketeers to the classroom to give guest lectures or discuss career paths, creating visibility and networking advantages in one of the fastest growing job industries in the United States. The National Solar Jobs Census shows that solar jobs will increase 7 percent in 2019, bringing the total to 259,400 jobs. What’s more, career prep programs like these can appeal to the increasing number of students considering trade schools or programs that prioritize hands-on learning.

Some schools have teamed up with their developer to design solar curriculum and class projects to accompany new solar systems. Other schools have turned the operations and maintenance of their solar systems into class projects or student jobs by asking students to monitor kilowatt hours produced and calculate carbon emissions deflected. St. Olaf College in Minnesota designed a semester long class, co-taught by an Environmental Studies professor and the school’s Facility Manager, to accompany a new solar array. Students in the class learned how to use Helioscope, a solar design software, to design the school’s new solar system, and then were invited to stay on campus as summer interns to work with contractors to oversee and support the construction of their designs.

Solar systems also offer unique points of engagement for outside community members. Schools can work with their developers to set up on-site kiosks during construction to talk about solar energy to passersby and informational webpages dedicated to sharing project updates and monitoring energy output. By partnering with developers that offer long-term operations and maintenance, schools can establish collaborative, creative programs to increase awareness, like constructing school gardens near ground-mount systems, offering a chance for students and community to regularly harvest crops and learn about solar energy. Take Susquehanna University’s Center for Environmental Education and Research for a creative example – the university uses its ground mount solar array to produce 30 percent of its campus’ energy needs and uses the 14-acres of grass beneath it to feed the college’s herd of sheep.

The number and variety of benefits that solar creates for schools begs the question – Why aren’t there more solar systems on schools? “Going solar” is an easy statement to make, but implementing projects involves collaborative decision making between school officials and the solar experts they trust to build the assets. Schools looking to add solar to their mix of energy resources can start the process by understanding how much energy their buildings consume, how their electric bills are paid, where their electrical meters are located and who would be part of the decision-making process. Most importantly, they should work with an independent power producer that has the experience and resources necessary to not only simplify the process, but also find creative ways to help its school partner go beyond maximizing economic returns and optimize new educational and engagement opportunities.

Schools are going solar to not only save on operational costs, but also to increase climate resiliency of educational institutions, provide new learning opportunities in critical, in-demand STEM subjects and build awareness of renewable energy in surrounding communities. Already, schools that have gone solar are offsetting about 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Just imagine how more solar on schools could reduce carbon emissions and advance the renewable economy, all while empowering future leaders to be part of a meaningful, emerging industry.

Jonathan Roberts serves as VP of Midwest Development at Soltage.

The post Solar Offers Schools More Than Just Monetary Savings appeared first on ���سԹ�.

The post Solar Offers Schools More Than Just Monetary Savings appeared first on ���سԹ�.