1.3 MW Project Expected to Save District $442,000 in Energy Costs in First Year, $22.5 Million over the Next 20 Years
SolarCity® has announced a 1.3-megawatt (MW) solar power project that will bring renewable energy to nine Martinez Unified School District (MUSC) schools and facilities. The solar installations, delivering environmental benefits to a city that naturalist and writer John Muir called home, are expected to save the district $442,000 on utility bills in their first year of operation and roughly $22.5 million over the next 20 years.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the systems was held today at John Muir Elementary School, and featured remarks by representatives of SolarCity and the District. Attendees included District students, faculty and parents.
“In going solar, the District seeks to help the environment while teaching our students about the importance of conserving energy,” said Andi Stubbs, Chief Business Official for Martinez Unified School District. “However, the benefits go beyond clean energy: the savings provided by these nine solar power systems will be used to support valuable programs and services district wide.”
The solar power systems will offset 94 percent of the nine facilities’ electricity needs, provide clean electricity for use by the schools during the day, and reduce the need for expensive peak power utility production. Educationally, they will provide students with firsthand demonstrations of how solar technology works, and of solar energy’s benefits to the classroom, where students can view the school’s real-time energy production using SolarCity’s web-based monitoring, PowerGuide®.
SolarCity has completed or undertaken more than 200 solar projects for U.S. schools, community colleges and universities.
“Twenty years from now, the District will still be educating Martinez’s youth, and it will still be reaping the broad benefits of the current leadership’s decision to go solar.” said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive.
SolarCity will install solar on these MUSD facilities: John Muir Elementary, John Swett Elementary, Las Juntas Elementary, Morello Park Elementary, Martinez Junior High, Alhambra High School, District Office, Maintenance Yard, Lower Campus.