Solar panels energize learning in two schools in Austin, Texas
New gear at two Round Rock schools provides lessons in math, biology.
By Bob Banta
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/12/26/26Solar.html
ROUND ROCK — Penny Smeltzer views the new solar panels at Westwood High School as a chance for her statistics students to engage in some high-level mathematical forecasting. Chris Delbar thinks that the sun-generated electricity could launch her Westwood chemistry students into a field of study that could make the planet a lot healthier. “There’s an old saying that we must take care of the environment because we borrow it from our children,” Delbar said. “These panels will motivate us to learn more about renewable energy.”
The solar devices atop two 10-foot poles were dedicated with a ribbon-cutting at Westwood and at Pond Springs Elementary in the Round Rock school district Dec. 7. After a training period, students at both campuses will monitor energy production from them through a Web site.
“We’ll gather data from the panels and do regression analyses to study cost savings and the benefits of solar power,” Smeltzer said. The solar panels at each campus, valued at $33,700 apiece, were free to the school district, paid for by grants from Austin Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy through the Texas State Energy Conservation Office.
The energy they provide will be free, too. Each unit generates enough power to serve five large classrooms at each school, said officials of Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s utility department.
The 3.4-kilowatt solar systems at the two schools each will produce about 5,450 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Each system will save its campus $545 in electricity costs annually, according to utility company officials. Students can track the power savings at each campus while also learning about energy and light, said Leslie Libby, renewable energy manager for Austin Energy.
“Every technology for producing power has its pros and cons,” Libby said. “Using coal to fuel power generators is cheaper, but there are environmental consequences when coal is burned. What is intriguing about energy from the sun is that it is environmentally beneficial. The problem is that solar technology is still expensive.”
She said Westwood and Pond Springs have joined 42 other schools in the state by having the solar panels on their campuses, including 12 in Austin. “One of the big reasons we are installing solar panels in schools is that we believe a lot of students will find jobs in the solar arena when they become adults,” Libby said.
Delbar’s students will be involved in monitoring the power output from the installations next semester when they cover electrochemistry. “We might not always have fossil fuels,” said Christina Lake, 16, a sophomore in one of Delbar’s classes. “The sun will be around for a long time.”
Emma McClain, a junior in Westwood’s rigorous International Baccalaureate Program, said one of her generation’s big worries is global warming, and solar energy seems to be one of the keys to preserving the planet’s delicate ecosystem. “I’ve read where they are improving the efficiency of solar power,” McClain said. “And that’s important because we definitely need to get off the types of fuels that pollute. Global warming keeps getting worse.”