by Jbs121008e3 — December 15, 2008—California’s State & Consumer Services Agency (SCSA) has announced the release of Grid Neutral: Electrical Independence for California Schools and Community Colleges, a step-by-step guide to help CA schools and community colleges cut energy costs through on-site electricity generation. The guidebook is reportedly the first state-backed, comprehensive program for schools to use to create campuses that generate as much electrical energy as they consume.
The guidebook walks school officials through the steps to creating a school that will balance its use of electricity with energy that is produced on the school campus. Schools are advised on the use of solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity; solar-thermal, where sunlight becomes heat for heating water; geothermal installations that pump ground heat for heating water and air; and wind power.
The guidebook also helps school officials understand the different methods for funding an electricity generation project at a school site. This includes power purchase agreements where a third party, who is able to collect on the tax incentives available, pays for construction of the solar project and monitors its production. Under this type of agreement, the school buys the electricity for equal to or less than market rates and retains the option to purchase the equipment to begin generating their own electricity. The state has already used these innovative agreements to finance projects at California State University campuses, prisons, and mental health hospitals.
SCSA says state funds also exist to support grid-neutral programs.
