Brightergy, a Missouri solar development and finance firm founded in the St. Louis area in 2003, was awarded a competitively bid contract to install a 25kW solar array on each of the 33 Parkway School District buildings. The unanimous school board vote May 3rd will outfit each school with a rooftop solar array via Brightergy’s pioneering BrighterLease program. The 825-kilowatt district-wide system is the largest rooftop solar project in state history.
With no upfront installation cost, the 33 leased systems are estimated to save the district as much as $14,194 in the first year, and savings could reach more than $1.4 million over the life of the contract. Parkway’s solar energy system will offset 2.2 percent of the district’s total annual electric use. In conjunction with Missouri’s voter-approved Renewable Energy Standard, Ameren Missouri, the district’s electric utility, is providing a portion of the incentives necessary to make this program possible.
Over the life of the 20-year BrighterLease, the 825kW aggregate solar photovoltaic system will prevent the release of 15,048 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the Missouri atmosphere. This is the environmental equivalent of not burning over 1.6 million gallons of gasoline or planting nearly 385,000 trees*.
In addition, each individual building’s solar system is equipped with an online monitoring program that will be accessible via the school Intranet system. Students and teachers will be able to view real-time data on their solar system’s energy production – a potentially powerful teaching tool in the Parkway classrooms.
“This is our future,” Superintendent Dr. Keith Marty said during the board meeting on May 3rd. “It’s a win-win-win,” Board President Beth Feldman said just prior to the vote – recognizing the environmental, economic and educational benefits of the solar systems.
“We are thrilled to be involved with the Parkway School District’s progressive decision to move forward with this watershed project,” says Brightergy Principal, Ryan Gardner. “It is extremely satisfying that our unique lease program has provided an unprecedented educational opportunity for years to come, with a strong economic case to boot.”