Danville’s Athenian School Turns on New Solar Panels
February 11, 2009 by editor
Filed under Schools & Colleges, Solar News
Athenian School's new 1,300 solar energy panels, covering 30,000 square feet, provides power to the Danville, California private school.
Officials at the Athenian School have given themselves the top grade for a new solar power system they say will save money and the environment.
The private school in Danville on Wednesday launched its new power system - a baseball field-sized array of panels shaped into the letter “A” on the school’s hillside.
The 220-kilowatt system consists of 1,300 photo voltaic panels that cover 30,000 square feet, according to the school. It will provide half of the school’s electricity needs. It was designed and installed by REC Solar and Mitsubishi Electric and financed through a power purchase agreement with Tioga Energy that the school expects will save about $250,000, or 15 percent of annual energy costs, over 20 years.
The school said over the course of the 20-year agreement, the array will cut out the generation of nearly 12,800 pounds of smog-producing emissions and 66 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
Eric Louie
San Ramon Valley Times
