The Los Angeles Post

REC Solar Saves California School District Millions Through Innovative Solar Energy Solutions

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SUMMARY

  • Pleasanton Unified School District is the latest education system to work with REC Solar to deploy on-site solar plus storage solutions.
  • Installations illustrate the education market’s need to control peak demand and lower costs.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., June 19, 2019  – REC Solar, a subsidiary of Duke Energy Renewables, is working with the Pleasanton Unified School District in Pleasanton, Calif., to utilize solar plus energy storage solutions to significantly cut its emissions and save on energy costs.

The project will include the installation of 1 megawatt (MW) of solar carports and a 660 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery energy storage system at Pleasanton Unified’s Amador Valley High School.

The investment is projected to save the Pleasanton Unified School District more than $2.2 million over the 25-year lifetime of the power purchase agreement, which will be financed by Duke Energy Renewables.

“Pleasanton Unified is a great example of the U.S. education market’s increasing desire to tap on-site solar generation combined with energy storage,” said Matt Walz, CEO of REC Solar. “By choosing solar plus storage, the district will further control costs under new time-of-use rates, reduce demand charges and cut emissions during peak hours when the electric grid is stressed by high demand.”

Pleasanton Unified, which is a public primary and secondary education school district located east of San Francisco, is the latest installation at more than 100 California districts and schools where REC Solar has implemented clean energy generation and storage solutions.

According to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, a leading energy research and consultancy firm, the Pleasanton Unified School District is an example of why education is one of the sectors driving 13-fold growth in energy storage globally by 2024.

“Education services is the largest subsegment of commercial and industrial customers today,” said Brett Simon, senior storage analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. “School boards and universities make ideal customers for storage developers. They are willing to accept longer payback periods compared to private-sector customers, have multiple buildings to allow for many deployments from a single contract, and usually have needs for bill reduction and resilience.”

“For many years it has been our goal to educate global citizens while focusing on projects that improve the health and well-being of our students, staff and community,” said David Haglund, Ed.D., Pleasanton Unified School District superintendent. “As cutting emissions is crucial to our global future, our project to install solar generation plus battery storage will benefit our students for decades.”

Pleasanton Unified School District is also reconfiguring the parking lot at the school to maximize performance of the solar arrays while also enhancing the lot’s accessibility and safety features. The new solar arrays will provide up to 97% of the high school’s current energy use and greenhouse gas emissions elimination. Students will also have access to REC Solar’s Greenpower Monitor tool and data for hands-on learning opportunities.