Oakland's Montclair School benefits with solar electricity

Ms. Tate's second grade class point outs the 1.6kW solar PV system on top of their classroom.

Oakland, Calif., Nov. 15, 2003 - One year after installing a solar energy system, Montclair School has produced more than 1,900-kilowatt hours of solar electricity. While the children of Montclair School play during recess, a row of solar panels collects energy from the sun to power school classrooms or to supply electricity wherever it is needed. "Solar electricity generation is a great way for schools to make use of their roof space to offset electricity use and teach kids a great lesson about energy independence", says Scott Ragsdale, who is a parent at the school and founder of CCEnergy, a local solar energy company that led the solar installation project at Montclair School. "There were many people involved with the Montclair School solar project," Ragsdale adds. "One year later we can really see the benefits of all their hard work."

Sixteen cobalt blue modules tilted toward the sun line the rooftop of a portable classroom at Montclair School. The backs of the modules are visible from Mountain Boulevard Heading toward the Montclair merchant district. The school's solar electricity system produces about 6 kilowatt-hours a day - enough electricity to run a large refrigerator or about 10 televisions every day. Montclair School's 1.2-kilowatt system annually produces about half of the electricity used by a typical Oakland home over the same time period. (See pictures of Montclair School's solar installation.)

"It would take about three barrels of oil to produce the same amount of energy produced by Montclair School's solar cells every year," Ragsdale notes. "And these cells last a long time - more than 25 years - so that over the lifetime of Montclair's solar installation, the school will offset at least 75 barrels of oil."

Solar energy can be found on more buildings in California than any other state in the nation. Over the past 20 years, California has built up to today's 44 megawatts - 44,000 kilowatts of solar electricity capacity. The rate of solar installations has increased greatly in the last few years and California is expected to double solar electricity production in four years. Montclair School is just a little ahead of the curve.

"A school project like this makes a lot of sense. The Montclair PTA is very involved and the Oakland School District was instrumental, and the project would not have taken place without exceptional support from our Principal, Frank Jennings," Ragsdale says. "Sine Electric also did a great job on the installation." Ragsdale, whose two children attend the school, spearheaded the Montclair School project. He also attended the school as a kindergartener and his family goes farther back as Scott's mother and great aunt also went to Montclair School. "It's nice to see you can make a positive impact on the lives of people you grew up with."

The November 2002 solar installation was completed at almost no cost to the school through a combination of a state energy grant afforded to schools in 2002, state rebates, and local donations to the PTA. In addition, the system will earn the school at least $800 dollars a year by generating excess power that spins the utility meter backwards during the daytime. Part of the grant funds from the state went to purchasing a set of teaching tools and a "teach-the-teachers" seminar led by Tor Allen of Solar Schoolhouse.

Students experiment hands-on with the "solar piano" as part of the curriculum acquired in the Montclair solar installation project.

Basically sun energy provides electricity to run air conditioners, lights, and other appliances. "The children understand the basic concepts: more sun, means more excited electrons means more power", says Mr. Jue, a teacher at the school. "I've always hoped that solar energy would take its place in our future. It's going to be very much part of these kids' future. It's pretty simple - the photovoltaic cell is a medium where electrons frequently collide with light from the sun and then go on to perform work. The excited electron performs work and then 'returns' to the PV cell to await another collision."

The Montclair Solar array can be viewed from the main school playground area during any day of the week. For those who are interested in watching solar electricity generation in action, two different displays register the performance of the system at the school. These displays are located next to a "Solar Power" poster that explains the basics of photovoltaics and solar applications. A light board shows instantaneous power production and total accumulated power production. There is also a dedicated "production meter" placed in the display area, a standard gray utility meter typically used by PG&E to keep track of energy use. However, this particular meter is wired to show energy produced rather than consumed.

Montclair School is just one example of thousands of installations across the country. "Some are for commercial use, others are residential, and many are placed at school and campuses," Ragsdale says. "The Montclair School installation is for the kids, certainly, but it's also a local resource for anyone looking to become more familiar with solar energy."

More about the Montclair School solar installation »