[Durham INC] School Bond for new schools and clean energy efficiency improvements and education

Tue Feb 23 16:58:12 EST 2016

If you are interested in another view of solar power for DPS, take a look at the below article from the DHS.  The story quotes Brian Callaway, the DPS energy and sustainability coordinator questioning cost-saving projections and saying that DPS can save more money with just plain lighting projects.

With all the issues facing DPS to improve results, it’s disheartening to see a solar project agenda of dubious results being advocated.

Dick
Coalition pushes case for solar powered schools
Greg Childress <https://heraldsun-dot-com.bloxcms-ny1.com/users/profile/Greg%20Childress>
Feb 3, 2016

DURHAM — The sun never showed itself Wednesday morning while members of the Repower our Schools coalition stood in front of the Durham Public Schools’ administration building to try to sell DPS on the benefits of solar energy.
But the lack of sunshine didn’t seem to bother coalition members who used the sun’s absence as a teachable moment to drive home their point about the advantage of using the sun to power schools.
Wafa Khalil, a retired science teacher and solar energy education specialist, said that after moving to Durham, her family took advantage of state tax credits to install a 6kw photovoltaic solar system on the roof of their house.
“I am happy to tell you that for the last three months, we paid zero dollars for our electricity in spite of the fact that there were 10 to 12 overcast days in that period,” Khalil said. “Yes, solar does work.”
The coalition news conference Wednesday was held to roll out reports by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NC CETC), that show that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the Durham Public Schools could save millions of dollars each over the next 25 years by installing solar panel to power their schools.
According to one report, savings in Durham could top $16 million over 25 years if the district switched to solar energy and the other contends that the much larger Charlotte-Mecklenburg district could save nearly $55 million.
“This assessment shows that it is absolutely possible to meet the electricity needs of both Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Durham school districts with solar installations located at schools,” Terry Landsell, the program director for Clean Air Carolina, said in a statement. “By doing so, we can save schools significant funding over the next 25 years to reinvest in our students, teachers and the classroom.”
David Rogers, the director of Environment North Carolina, said the reports confirm what solar supporters have known for many years.
“Today, there may be no school districts that rely 100 percent clean energy, but that’s mostly because we’re limited by our dated vision of what’s possible,” Rogers said. As this report shows, not only is it feasible for Durham’s schools to shift completely to clean, renewable energy, but it also makes economic sense.”
Converting to solar energy would be an expensive proposition for DPS or any other school district.
At Oak Grove Elementary School, for example, the researchers estimate it would cost about $1.5 million to outfit the school with roof top and parking lot photovoltaic systems to convert the school to 100 percent solar.
School district officials have received a copy of the report with what they termed “gaudy” cost-saving predictions.
Brian Callaway, the DPS energy and sustainability coordinator, said the coalition’s $16 million in projected savings over 25 years is roughly $600,000 a year.
“I can save more than that with lighting projects,” Callaway said. “That’s what we’re focused on, what’s reality, what’s possible today.”
Callaway said doable projects such as installing more energy efficient lighting has an immediate, beneficial impact on classrooms.
“Solar is a pretty hat on top,” Callaway said. “I want to concentrate on the body and just not the hat.”
Callaway added that DPS has more pressing needs than solar on which to spend its time and limited resources.
“We have buildings with roofs leaking, HVAC systems still controlled by dial-up modems and lighting systems using the most antiquated equipment known,” Callaway said.
The coalition’s reports spell out the various financial paths, including partnering with third-party investors, DPS and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school districts can take to lower the cost of converting to solar energy.
“Under current policies in North Carolina, the most attractive path to maximize financial returns on a solar investment is a partnership-flip ownership model for a solar farm whereby the school obtains ownership of the PV (Photovoltaic) system after seven years of joint ownership with third-party investors,” the report says.
Another option, third-party energy sales, is prohibited in North Carolina. The state is only one of five that prohibits sales that would enable schools to engage in what the coalition calls a “more beneficial power purchase agreement model.”
The report also touts the benefits of solar and other renewable energies such as wind which, in addition to long-term financial savings, include in-school solar laboratories for students.
Veronica Shingleton, with Moms Clean Air Force North Carolina, an organization working to shine light on the danger children face as a result of air pollution, said clean renewable energy helps to reduce the impact of harmful air pollution.
“I believe we each have an obligation to protect children, older adults and others who are vulnerable to poor air quality because of asthma or other chronic disease,” Shingleton said. “Without our health, little else matters. This is an important lesson we should be teaching in our schools.”
Shingleton also said the potential savings are critical as state lawmakers continue to cut funding for public education.
“The opportunity to save money over the long term and reinvest it back into the schools should not be passed up,” she said.

> On Feb 23, 2016, at 2:56 PM, Melissa Rooney Writing <melissarooneywriting at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hello fellow Durham community members. Please see the email below, which I just sent to the DPS School board as well as Durham City/County Sustainability Manager Tobin Freid, DPS Coordinator of Energy and Sustainability, and DPS Superintendent Bert L’Homme.
> 
> As shown at the following website, the long-term energy cost-savings resulting from investing in clean energy at our schools right now (which can and will be incorporated into real-time, job-ready biotechnology and environmental science education for Durham Public School students) make providing funding (from the 180 M school bond proposal) for this initiative a no brainer:
> 
> http://www.repowerourschools.com/durham/ <http://www.repowerourschools.com/durham/>
> 
> Please take a moment to sign the petition at the above link and show your support for being proactive in clean energy initiatives and savings at Durham County Public Schools.
> 
> Thanks!
> Melissa (Rooney)
> 
> 
> 
>> Begin forwarded message:
>> 
>> From: Melissa Rooney Writing <melissarooneywriting at gmail.com <mailto:melissarooneywriting at gmail.com>>
>> Subject: School Bond for new schools and clean energy efficiency improvements and education
>> Date: February 23, 2016 at 2:45:16 PM EST
>> Cc: bert.lhomme at dpsnc.net <mailto:bert.lhomme at dpsnc.net>, Tobin Freid <tfreid at dconc.gov <mailto:tfreid at dconc.gov>>, Brian Callaway <Brian.Callaway at dpsnc.net <mailto:Brian.Callaway at dpsnc.net>>
>> To: nathalie.beyer at dpsnc.net <mailto:nathalie.beyer at dpsnc.net>, Leigh Bordley <Leigh.Bordley at dpsnc.net <mailto:Leigh.Bordley at dpsnc.net>>, "matt.sears at dpsnc.net <mailto:matt.sears at dpsnc.net>" <matt.sears at dpsnc.net <mailto:matt.sears at dpsnc.net>>, "mike.lee at dpsnc.net <mailto:mike.lee at dpsnc.net>" <mike.lee at dpsnc.net <mailto:mike.lee at dpsnc.net>>, Minnie Forte-Brown <Minnie.Forte-Brown at dpsnc.net <mailto:Minnie.Forte-Brown at dpsnc.net>>, "Sendolo.Diaminah at dpsnc.net <mailto:Sendolo.Diaminah at dpsnc.net>" <Sendolo.Diaminah at dpsnc.net <mailto:Sendolo.Diaminah at dpsnc.net>>, Heidi Carter <hhcjog at yahoo.com <mailto:hhcjog at yahoo.com>>
>> 
>> I have found myself in several discussions this week about the 180 M school bond initiative, with 2/3 of the funding proposed to build 5 new schools and the other 1/3 of the funds to go toward energy efficiency.
>> 
>> I understand that the school board and other elected officials appear to support the $ for the 5 new schools but are hesitant to support earmarking 1/3 of the funding for energy efficiency/retrofits at our schools.
>> 
>> While I strongly support more $ for our teachers and IN our classrooms (as opposed to upper admin. staff and offices), I think that dismissing this funding for clean energy generation at Durham Public Schools is short-sighted and, quite frankly, misses the point completely. 
>> 
>> It is my understanding that DPS spends approximately 5.7 M on electricity per annum. We could reduce this bill to $0 by installing solar and other clean energy installations on existing as well as new schools. What’s more, these installations can be ground rather than roof-based, making maintenance far easier and cost-efficient for Durham Public Schools.
>> 
>> We can create a win-win-win-etc. situation if the conditions/requirements of the 180 M Bond can somehow commit to using all $ saved in electricity/energy costs solely for teacher salaries and classroom supplies (as opposed to capital improvements, upper admin. costs, etc.).
>> 
>> Please don’t fumble the ball with regard to incorporating clean energy into our schools right now. Please support the bond allocation for energy efficiency in current as well as future DPS schools.
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> Melissa (Rooney)
>> Parent of students at Creekside, Jordan, and Durham School of the Arts
>> 
>> Melissa Rooney, Ph.D.
>> 301 Spring Garden Drive
>> Durham, NC 27713
>> melissarooneywriting at gmail.com <mailto:melissarooneywriting at gmail.com>
>> www.melissarooneywriting.com <http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/>
>> 
> 
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