Creekside Charter School Transitions To Solar Power In Collaboration With Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Liberty Utilities And Simple Power Solar
Creekside Charter School has installed 74 solar panels on its roofs with funding from Proposition 39 California Clean Energy Jobs Act, which allocated general funds to allow charter and public schools to pursue energy efficiency and renewable projects. Locally owned and operated company Simple Power Solar managed the installation of the 29.23 Kilowatt project, which is expected to offset the schools’ annual usage by nearly 100%. The custom design provides much needed shade for many of the schoolrooms and also sheds snow away from the class room walkways and entrances.
“Creekside Charter is incredibly grateful for the funding from the state funding that made this project possible, and I hope we can set an example for other schools in California,” said Jeff Kraunz, executive director of Creekside Charter School. “This project represents what is possible when we collaborate around a good idea. Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows continues to support our school and worked with us on the design and logistics from start to finish. Simple Power brought this project to life and Liberty Utilities has made it easy to connect the project to the grid, adding yet another solar installation into their power portfolio. Creekside remains committed to teaching our youth the importance of being stewards of the earth.”
Creekside Charter resides at the base of Squaw Valley for $1 each year and shares the resort’s larger electricity meter with Liberty Utilities. Surplus power, for example when the school is closed, will go to two neighboring resort employee housing buildings. Surplus beyond that will go back into the Liberty Utilities grid and be returned as credit. In periods where the array does not produce sufficient energy for the school, power from the larger Liberty Utilities grid will be drawn upon. The project is expected to drive down energy costs for both the school and the resort, and a monitor installed at Creekside Charter will provide tracking for the electricity generated by the project.
