NORTHFIELD — Solar panels on the roof could cut energy costs for Pioneer Valley Regional School by a quarter and would cost the school nothing, district Business Manager Tanya Gaylord said.
Plans for an installation are far off, but the district has begun exploring options for solar panels on its central middle-high school in Northfield.
The roof of the school seems like the most viable option, rather than setting the panels on the ground around the school or building a roof over the parking lot, Superintendent Jon Scagel said.
Technically, the panels would be owned and maintained by a separate company, so the panels would cost Pioneer nothing. The outside company would sell the electricity to the school at a cheaper rate than what the district currently pays. There would be a contract for the panels to be on the building for 25 years, after which time the company may choose to remove them or sell them to the school.
Savings would be significant. In the last 12 months the district paid about $140,000 for the middle-high school’s electricity, Gaylord said. She estimates that in the model being considered, that cost would have been about $38,000 lower. And with renovations currently being done to the building through a “Green Communities” grant, the school’s electricity needs will soon go down. Also, costs for solar electricity would increase at a rate of 2.5 percent a year, compared to current increases from the utility company of 6 to 10 percent a year.
At this point, an engineer from a solar company needs to review the building to be sure it can fit solar panels. The company will not charge the district for the consultation, said Sharon Fontaine, who chairs the School Committee’s subcommittee for buildings and grounds.