On Tuesday, September 18, community members joined students at Corvallis High School to learn about the community solar project at CHS that both groups helped finance. Installation of the 117-kilo-Watt solar array is currently in progress.
The event started in the classroom of Julie Williams’ Sustainability and Society class, and then moved outside where participants could see the solar panel construction process. Students have been learning about clean alternative energy sources to coal and nuclear power plants. During the discussion in class, students actively participated by asking questions and offering opinions regarding financial responsibility, climate change, and energy source ownership. The class focused on the negative impacts to health and the environment with current energy sources. “I don’t want my energy consumption in my home to impact the next generation’s future,” said Williams.
Other funding for the project came from BE Solar, a division of Benton Electric, Inc., of Albany, which is installing the system, and the Energy Trust of Oregon. The Corvallis School District will purchase electricity produced by the solar electric system at rates guaranteed under the terms and conditions of a Power Purchase Agreement. The system is projected to save the school district more than $21,000 in electric costs in the first ten years, and nearly $317,000 over 25 years. “This project wouldn’t have happened without the investment of the Corvallis community”, said Dan Orzech, General Manager of the Oregon Clean Power Co-op, which developed the project. “This is a way for people to invest in renewable energy and see the results in their own community.” The Oregon Clean Power Co-op’s community-ownership model allows Oregon residents to support the development of renewable energy by financing local clean energy projects. The funds will be used to install the system, and the investors will get paid back over ten years from the District’s energy savings.
The project is expected to deliver environmental benefits each year equivalent to planting 93 acres of trees, or reducing the miles driven by passenger cars by 236,000 miles.