“We are very excited about greening our schools, reducing our energy purchases and putting more funds in classrooms… this is a wonderful opportunity to do the right thing, cut costs, and provide a real world education to our students about practical and effective ways to save energy.”
Enrique Palacios, PUSD Associate Superintendent
The Scenario
Under budget pressure, the Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) sought to marry its goal of environmental stewardship with its need to minimize costs. At a time when cost-cutting all too often results in larger class sizes, fewer teachers and reduced academic programming, the district wanted to avoid compromising their commitment to quality education.
The Solution
With the help of REC Solar, the district designed a plan to reduce its electrical bills by as much as 90% through the installation of over 13,000 solar panels.
Fifty-five shade structures were installed over 14 different sites, including Pittsburg High School and two junior high schools. Over 30 years, the system is expected to produce well over 100,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable energy, equivalent to 66% of the district’s energy consumption.