Sun helps to power small school with small budget

The Novato Charter School is a tiny public elementary school in Novato, California, built and run by a small group of administrators and faculty with the help of a highly involved parent body. Absolutely everything that has happened at this small school (a Waldorf methods/best educational practices amalgam) is the result of individual dedication and vision. In 2001 the Novato School District offered the school a site. It was nothing more than a chunk of asphalt, the desolate former Hamilton Air Force base landing pad.

The bad news was that there was nothing - no classrooms, no offices, no trees, no play structures or sport courts. Administrators, teachers and parents have had to create an environment for the children from scratch, making all kinds of personal donations of time and money and taking out loans to purchase facilities.

The good news, eight years later, is that the school grounds get a near- constant wash of the sun’s rays. The treeless land became a blessing, providing the potential to harness the sunshine, enough energy to power the school.

If ever there were a great location for solar panels, this is it. The hope is that the energy saved will pay back the investment in just a bit over a decade. We even want to put energy back into the grid. Imagine this school, and the so many other schools that are sitting out in the middle of great expanses of blacktop, selling energy back to the state. The little schools that could.

To learn more about the Novato Charter School solar panels and to see pictures and a video of the event click here.