ABSTRACT

Over recent decades considerable publicity has been given to the potential role of solar
technologies in terms of decreasing reliance on fossil fuels in the world energy economy.
This emphasis on clean renewable energy supply was triggered first by the post OPEC 'price
hike' in the mid seventies and has been reinforced by concerns, in the public domain,
regarding environmental degradation and the long term sustainability of the energy economy.

Considerable attention has been devoted to developing alternative energy technologies in a

range of diverse forms for a multiplicity of domestic, commercial and industrial applications.
Much less regard has been paid until recently to the role of education and training in gaining
acceptance for use of these new technologies in replacing current equipment and practices in
energy supply and demand.

In this paper attention is devoted to the various formal and informal educational pathways
available in society today. A brief overview is provided of recent solar educational initiatives
with particular reference to Australian projects in the hope that similar projects may be of use
in many developed and developing nations of the world.

What is a Solar School?

People are always asking us “What is a Solar School?” The answer is simple: It’s a solar
electricity installation at any type of school or education center that uses the solar energy
system as a teaching tool and hopefully is designed so the panels are visible from the school
grounds. We want future students to ask "What are those panels for?" And most schools
include live data so their students can see how much electricity their systems are creating
from the solar panels at their school.

The PV system consists of three parts: The data collection system, the inverter, and the solar
panels.

Funding

Funding for solar school installations can come from a variety of places. School districts can
simply buy the equipment and the installations. Sometimes schools raise their own funding
and sometimes school groups like PTAs or other parent groups raise the funds. We partner
with a number of organizations around the country that sponsor their own solar school
initiatives. The American Electric Power Foundation (AEP), the PG&E Foundation, TXU
Energy, and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) all do contribute or
have contributed in the past large sums of money to help pay for a large number of solar
school installations in a variety of sizes all over the US and even some outside the US. The
installations have all been connected to teacher training and educational workshops and most
of the educational side has been handled by our partner NEED (www.NEED.org). AEP has
sponsored more than 100 schools in its Learning from Light Program as has PG&E in its
PG&E Solar Schools Program. TXU Energy has just started its TXU Energy Solar Academy
and already there are 25 successful school projects with more coming in 2010. And ICECF
will see its 200th solar school installation go in during 2010.

Our Benefits

 We offer a portfolio of solar solutions—including large-scale, off-site and on-site

rooftop and carport—customized to your goals and campus
 We deliver your solar energy via a convenient power purchase agreement, while we
handle the details of project execution behind the scenes and under one roof with our
world-class team
 You meet your school’s renewable energy and sustainability targets with our best-in-
class project delivery, real-time monitoring, and long-term O&M that maximize solar
generation
 We have the commitment, passion, and enduring financial strength to stand with you
as your long-term energy partner to achieve your goals and enhance your
organizational reputation with students, teachers/faculty, administration, alumni, and
the communities in which you operate
 Our finance, engineering, construction, and other teams de-risk, future-proof, and
optimize solutions to create the best long-term value for your school
 We complement our solar expertise with capabilities in battery energy storage, smart
buildings, and other solar-plus solutions to unlock even greater possibilities