Los Al Unified modifies its plan for solar energy.
The Los Alamitos Unified School District was seriously exploring a transition to more solar power at nine school sites before the pandemic, the superintendent told the school board this week.
However, with coming budget squeeze, Dr. Andrew Pulver said the system will “won’t be able to have the capital” to move forward with solar plants, but “we are now exploring another option.”
Pulver said during the town hall meetings associated with Measure G, “several community members were really interested in “having us explore green options” to power the schools.
“A lot of people within this community really care about the environment,” he said.
While the system will no longer have the capital to build and maintain such a system “through the life of the program”, the board is now exploring another option called a “power purchase agreement.”
“This will allow us to lease and really purchase the solar energy that is generated through three solar arrays,” said Pulver.
In doing so, he added, “we would have no capital costs to implement them or construct them,” he said.
Moreover, he said such a power purchase agreement would provide “a guaranteed production value.”
Over the life of a 30-year agreement, said Pulver, it is currently understood that the savings to the Los Al Unified School District could be as much as $10-15 million.
Pulver’s report came following a lengthy solar workshop that was held before the most recent board meeting.
During the workshop, Pulver said there was an opportunity to get community stakeholder input on whether such a program is viable and should the system “go forward with it.”
Part of that savings, said Pulver, would be a result of the investment the school system made earlier in battery storage.
The solar powered option for Los Al schools is very much a work in progress, Pulver told the board, but wanted to report that the school administration was taking it very seriously and meeting with companies to determine the most beneficial way to implement alternative power solutions.
The Los Alamitos Unified School District was seriously exploring a transition to more solar power at nine school sites before the pandemic, the superintendent told the school board this week.
However, with coming budget squeeze, Dr. Andrew Pulver said the system will “won’t be able to have the capital” to move forward with solar plants, but “we are now exploring another option.”
Pulver said during the town hall meetings associated with Measure G, “several community members were really interested in “having us explore green options” to power the schools.
“A lot of people within this community really care about the environment,” he said.
While the system will no longer have the capital to build and maintain such a system “through the life of the program”, the board is now exploring another option called a “power purchase agreement.”
“This will allow us to lease and really purchase the solar energy that is generated through three solar arrays,” said Pulver.
In doing so, he added, “we would have no capital costs to implement them or construct them,” he said.
Moreover, he said such a power purchase agreement would provide “a guaranteed production value.”
Over the life of a 30-year agreement, said Pulver, it is currently understood that the savings to the Los Al Unified School District could be as much as $10-15 million.
Pulver’s report came following a lengthy solar workshop that was held before the most recent board meeting.
During the workshop, Pulver said there was an opportunity to get community stakeholder input on whether such a program is viable and should the system “go forward with it.”
Part of that savings, said Pulver, would be a result of the investment the school system made earlier in battery storage.
The solar powered option for Los Al schools is very much a work in progress, Pulver told the board, but wanted to report that the school administration was taking it very seriously and meeting with companies to determine the most beneficial way to implement alternative power solutions.
Photo by Andreas Gücklhorn on Unsplash
The Los Alamitos Unified School District was seriously exploring a transition to more solar power at nine school sites before the pandemic, the superintendent told the school board this week.
However, with coming budget squeeze, Dr. Andrew Pulver said the system will “won’t be able to have the capital” to move forward with solar plants, but “we are now exploring another option.”
Pulver said during the town hall meetings associated with Measure G, “several community members were really interested in “having us explore green options” to power the schools.
“A lot of people within this community really care about the environment,” he said.
While the system will no longer have the capital to build and maintain such a system “through the life of the program”, the board is now exploring another option called a “power purchase agreement.”
“This will allow us to lease and really purchase the solar energy that is generated through three solar arrays,” said Pulver.
In doing so, he added, “we would have no capital costs to implement them or construct them,” he said.
Moreover, he said such a power purchase agreement would provide “a guaranteed production value.”
Over the life of a 30-year agreement, said Pulver, it is currently understood that the savings to the Los Al Unified School District could be as much as $10-15 million.
Pulver’s report came following a lengthy solar workshop that was held before the most recent board meeting.
During the workshop, Pulver said there was an opportunity to get community stakeholder input on whether such a program is viable and should the system “go forward with it.”
Part of that savings, said Pulver, would be a result of the investment the school system made earlier in battery storage.
The solar powered option for Los Al schools is very much a work in progress, Pulver told the board, but wanted to report that the school administration was taking it very seriously and meeting with companies to determine the most beneficial way to implement alternative power solutions.
