BOOM IN SUN FOR SCHOOLS

Schooled In Solar: On-Campus PV Projects Increase By 450%
11 October 2011 (Solar Industry)

"A new database of hundreds of on-campus solar photovoltaic installations created by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) reveals that installed solar capacity has grown 450% over the last three years in the higher-education sector.

"…[O]ther important solar trends in the higher education sector…[include] a 40% drop in the installed cost of solar over the last four years and new financing mechanisms [that] have led institutions to invest in solar as a way to hedge against rising electricity prices while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions."

Solar system on an Ohio high school (click to enlarge)

"…[T]he 137 MW of solar capacity installed on higher-education campuses to date is equivalent to the power used by 40,000 U.S. homes, and the market in 2010 for on-campus solar installations was over $300 million in the U.S…In addition, higher education solar installations in 2010 made up 5.4% of the total 956 MW installed that year in the U.S. Only five states installed more solar in 2010 than the 52 MW installed on U.S. campuses in 2010.

"The report also found average project sizes have grown substantially in recent years. In 2005, the average project size was below 20 kW; so far in 2011, it is approaching 200 kW…"