AUSD thinks green with school solar panels

By Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — Alpine Union School District is in league with some of the major minds of ecological preservation. With the addition of their new solar field located at Alpine Elementary School, the district has also added a new level in their forward thinking economical conservation practices.
     The Solar Power fields were the initial idea of Rob Turner, the Business manager for AUSD. “We believe it will save the district 30-40,000 dollars in energy costs,” he said.
     Turner doesn’t have hard evidence of this yet in his accounting figures, as the system was finished at the end of last school year, and started its operation in a year that was plagued with overcast skies, and rather dreary weather. This and the fact our school year is only in its first month of operation, gives a very small sampling of financial comparisons.
But the forecast is good he says.
     “The system is above the ground and it’s a tracking system, which allows the system to track the sun by turning the panels as the sun tracks across the sky.”
     These panels are already collecting solar energy before 10 a.m.
     “A tracking system is a very good choice as a fixed panel system doesn’t usually maximize the utility until after 10 a.m.,” said Turner. “Trackers actually give the system a longer day of energy collection.”
     The system was designed by 3rd Rock Systems and Technologies and was sized according to the usage approximation for AES. 3rd Rock has also worked with the Lemon Grove School District and states on their web site that public schools and other government agencies tend to be ideal candidates for renewable energy generation systems such as solar photovoltaics (PV). They say they understand the requirements that are set forth for these agencies, and they must because the approximation for AES was absolutely correct. The system completely powers the school’s facilities.
     Another good point for this system is that this solar field does not create an EMF (Electromagnetic Field). The power that is generated by a solar field is direct current. DC power does not create EMF’s, that can be harmful to our health.
     To prove this point Turner himself, owns a Gause meter, which is used to detect and meter EMF. He said he has trekked up to the field to ascertain if any EMF was actually present. He is proud to announce that there is not.
Turner is very aware of the power we use on our campuses and how it affects the heath of our students.
     “We even design our computer labs to reduce the effects of EMF and I have walked through campuses with my meter,” he said.
     Joan Mac Queen Middle School also sports solar panels, and has been enjoying the benefits of solar energy so much, that the district is gearing up to add to this already financially sound system.
     The system that the district is about to add to JMMS is a retrofit system that will be added to the channels in the roofing system on the library and the gym.
     Turner says that he is surprised that the State of California does not require new structures to incorporate solar technology into their buildings. This surprise is substantiated by the fact that Professor Andrew Blakers from The Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University has reported that photovoltaic solar energy conversion can be cost-competitive with any low-emission electricity generation technology by 2030.

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