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Lemon Grove School District
Site(1): 190 Kw Palm Middle School. 8425 Palm Street
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
Site(2): 190 Kw Mt. Vernon Elem Sch. 8350 Mt. Vernon St
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
Site(3): 150 Kw San Miguel Midd Sch. 7059 San Miguel Ave
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
System Capacity: 530Kw
Project Status: Completed - August 2005
Panel Mfg: RWE Schott Solar
Number of Panels: 1767
Inverters: Satcon
Area Covered: 71,000 square feet
Warranty: 5 Year Comprehensive on System, 25 Years on Solar Panels,
Monitoring: 3rd Rock Systems
Battery: NA
Background
Over the last several years, the Lemon Grove School District had been looking for effective ways to insulate themselves against rising energy costs. After thoroughly investigating many options, the District decided that they would rather purchase electricity from a clean and renewable source at a cost they could clearly
budget for, versus continuing to purchase non-renewable electricity from their local utility company, San Diego Gas & Electric at forever unknown rates. By using solar to provide approximately 85-95% of each sites electricity needs, Lemon Grove will pay virtually nothing for electricity once the solar systems are paid off.
Challenges
Solar PV Projects are very complex, especially for public schools, and involve coordination with many diverse entities including the local utility company, various funding sources, and in most cases, the Division of State Architect (DSA). The high up-front costs can also be difficult to justify without the tax benefits that are
available to commercial clients.
Lemon Grove School District - Leading the Way
Lemon Grove School District is truly a pioneer among Californias K-12 Public Schools. They have already led the way in technology education and are now leading the way in renewable energy education. By being an early adopter, and a District with vision, they took the risk and benefited from an excellent rebate program that is unfortunately no longer available in California due to such a high
demand for solar energy.
Financial Benefits
Over the next 30 years, the District expects to save over five million dollars (conservative estimate) in electricity bills versus what they would have expected to pay for that electricity from San Diego Gas & Electric.
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