The school, which has about 730 students, announced this week that it was buying power from a 203-kilowatt solar array owned by Solar Power Partners. SPP, which owns and operates more than 45 solar plants around the U.S., is selling solar energy to Grant Elementary under a power purchase agreement.
PPAs are widely used among schools and other nonprofit organizations. Not only do the agreements let organizations buy clean power for less than the cost of grid-sourced energy, but PPAs are signed with private companies - meaning that the solar projects those companies develop are eligible for state and federal rebates and subsidies.
Grant Elementary expects to save $600,000 on energy over the 20-year life of its agreement. In just the first year of its solar array's operation, enough clean energy will be produced to offset the emissions of 40 passenger vehicles.
"Incorporating renewable energy," Grant Elementary superintendent John Krinkel said, "has been cost-conscious now and for the future."
