Chula Vista Elementary School District and ENGIE North America announced the completion of the district’s new solar project. The District now has 8.1 MW of solar installed across 48 sites and is finalizing the installation of a microgrid system. The microgrid is located at the Education Service and Support Center and powered through solar and batteries to provide backup emergency power to the District’s IT department, additional servers and the Child Nutrition freezer. The microgrid’s battery storage system will also provide electricity during the peak time period of 4:00-9:00 p.m. when electric rates are highest, saving the District from having to pull their electricity from SDG&E’s electrical grid during that time each day.
The solar installation includes 18,050 panels installed as shade structures at 46 schools, the Transportation Yard and the Education Service and Support Center. The $32 million project was funded through a G.O. Bond and is expected to save the District more than $70 million in net electricity costs over the next 25 years.
“That is $70 million in savings even after project costs have been paid for,” said Oscar Esquivel, Deputy Superintendent. “By the end of this project, we think we will be able to generate about 90% of the District’s overall energy demands. That is a tremendous amount of energy — and savings for our District. This is a ‘green’ project both environmentally and fiscally.”
“We have a demonstrated commitment to strengthening environmental sustainability efforts that our community recognizes,” Esquivel continued. “Our team has done an outstanding job of continually finding ways to increase energy efficiency and savings while doing our part to improve the environment. We want to model for our students the importance of energy awareness, conservation, and sustainability.”
News item from ENGIE
