Bonneville Environmental Foundation Installs
Educational Solar Energy System at Sunnyside Environmental School
School hosts Invention Convention May 13; Fifth Portland Public School to partner with BEF, Energy Trust and PGE for solar education.
Portland, Ore. – (May 13, 2008) – When is a solar electric system more than a new source of electricity? When it generates ideas along with kilowatt hours. That’s what’s happening at Sunnyside Environmental School on Tuesday, May 13 at 6pm. Portland Public Schools, Energy Trust of Oregon, Portland General Electric and Bonneville Environmental Foundation are celebrating the installation of a 1.1 kW solar energy system and educational kiosk during the southeast Portland school’s Environmental Invention Convention.
Sunnyside will demonstrate their new solar installation at the school’s first annual Environmental Invention Convention, along with projects developed by the school’s students. Sunnyside is the fifth Portland public school to participate in Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s Solar 4R Schools program, which is designed to teach students and communities about renewable energy.
Kacia Brockman, Energy Trust’s solar program manager, says programs such as these are excellent opportunities for communities to investigate renewable energy.
“We’re thrilled to work with BEF, PGE and Portland Public Schools to facilitate renewable energy education for Sunnyside Environmental School students,” said Brockman. “We hope parents will talk about the program with their children and join us at the Environmental Invention Convention to learn about renewable energy.”
“The solar panels and the renewable energy curriculum will help our students and their parents learn more about solar electricity and become invested in this technology,” said Ginny Stern, a Sunnyside teacher who championed the project. “The Invention Convention will be a wonderful opportunity for our students to demonstrate their smart thinking about renewable energy.”
The 1.1 kW solar electric project is intended to do more than generate electricity. As a learning tool, the system introduces students to renewable energy technology and provides an opportunity to explore energy issues in an interactive, hands-on way. The web-based data monitoring system that accompanies the installation allows students to observe real-time system performance and download historical data for presentation and analysis. An interactive touch-screen kiosk inside the school displays live system data and information about conservation and other renewable energy sources.
The Sunnyside Environmental School installation is the fifth Solar 4R Schools project for Portland Public Schools. The other four are at Rosa Parks Elementary School, da Vinci Arts Middle School Cleveland High School and Lincoln High School. As participants in the Solar 4R Schools program, Sunnyside students and teachers have committed to incorporating renewable energy classroom exercises into the existing curriculum.
About Energy Trust of Oregon
Energy Trust of Oregon, Inc., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing how Oregonians use energy by promoting energy efficiency and clean renewable energy for Oregon customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas. Visit energytrust.org or call 1-866-368-7878.
About Portland General Electric (PGE)
Portland General Electric, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a fully integrated electric utility that serves more than 808,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. Visit greenpoweroregon.com.
About Solar 4R Schools
Solar 4R Schools (S4RS), developed and managed by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), fosters knowledge and excitement about renewable energy technology by delivering hands-on experience with solar electric systems to students, parents, educators, utilities, installers, and municipalities throughout the United States. The most comprehensive solar schools program in the country, S4RS provides curriculum and real-time data monitoring, and has installed solar electric systems in nearly 100 schools in 16 states. BEF supports this program and other renewable energy and watershed restoration projects with revenues generated by the sale of renewable energy certificates (RECs), and through direct partnerships with sustainably focused funding partners.
About the PV and Monitoring Systems
The solar power system includes six Sharp NT-170U1 solar modules, allowing for a peak capacity of approximately 1,020 watts. One 1,800 watt SMA power inverter converts the DC output from the solar panels to useable AC power. The system is expected to generate more than 1,000 kilowatt hours of renewable electricity per year. The data acquisition and monitoring system, from Fat Spaniel Technologies, Inc., allows students to monitor current and historical energy production and weather conditions. See real-time data for the Sunnyside Environmental School.
