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TMCNet: Jurupa schools may seek the sun to ease budget woes

[March 11, 2010]

Jurupa schools may seek the sun to ease budget woes

Mar 10, 2010 (The Press-Enterprise - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Jurupa school district officials, wrestling with a multimillion-dollar budget deficit for the 2010-11 school year, are considering solar power as a way to cut utility costs and, in turn, return more money to the classroom.

The Jurupa Unified School District board of education voted in February to seek proposals from energy services companies for a project that might include solar panels installed at various school sites, including Jurupa, Patriot and Rubidoux high schools.

The project for the Riverside County district would also see the company make improvements -- with no up-front costs to the district -- to boost energy efficiency in schools and other district facilities.

Simply installing energy-efficient equipment such as heating and air conditioning units could save the district between 15 and 35 percent on utility bills, according to a report prepared for board members by Chevron Energy Solutions.

For the 2008-09 school year, the district paid $3.2 million for electricity, said Pam Lauzon, the district's assistant superintendent for business services.

"I'm excited about the possibility of solar power coming to Jurupa," school board member Mary Burns said Friday.

Solar power also provides educational opportunities for students, Burns said.

Another Riverside County district, Hemet Unified, last summer announced it was looking into building a solar network that would provide about a quarter of the agency's electricity needs.

Vince Christakos, the assistant superintendent for business services, said the Hemet district remains committed to solar power as a way to save on utility costs but at present is looking at what size network would serve the school district's needs.

"The project may come back before the board this spring," Christakos said.

Jurupa official Lauzon said the district already is saving about $500,000 on its electricity bill by participating in a program that allows Southern California Edison to shut down district air conditioners for 15 minutes out of an hour four times a day during the summer when electricity use near the "brown out" level.

The district also has installed new thermostats with timers in portable classrooms.

Under a facility performance contract, the energy company selected would replace aging heating and air conditioning units at no cost to the school district. The savings in utility bills would pay back the investment in the equipment.

A solar energy component of the contract would see the solar power system installed at no cost to the school district.

The solar power generated would then be sold back to the district at a steep discount under what is known as a power purchase agreement.

To see more of The Press-Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.PE.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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