Rockridge students earn B.C. solar panel grant
Rockridge secondary students have turned a bright idea into 15 new solar panels that will soon be installed on the school's roof.
The school is one of 11 chosen from 51 applicants by the provincial government's Solar BC initiative to receive a grant of up to $20,000 to install solar panels after three students in the school's environmental club did the legwork required to sort out the application and get the school staff on side.
"We can't wait to actually see them on the roof and generating power," said club member Callum Kelpin, who spearheaded the project after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper along with peers Kelsey Dennison and Lisa Tejpar.
Fifteen solar panels will be installed on the school's roof this summer, generating about 3.45 kilowatts of energy daily, compared to the school's total consumption of about 100 kilowatts a day. They will be connected to the electrical public grid, although the small size of the project means selling electricity back to BC Hydro isn't practical.
Where the students really see the importance is in the classroom.
Anyone will be able to check how much energy is being produced at any time using a special program on one of the school's computer terminals, they said, and the information will be updated regularly in postings in the hallway. As well, the panels will be used for educational purposes in science, math and even classes like social studies.
"Students are more interested in learning about things that are tangible and that they can see," said Tejpar.
They hope that will help encourage students to take action in other ways, added Dennison.
"Students feel there isn't really anything they can do, so getting the solar panel is going to inspire a lot more people to take action about sustainability, because they see this is something they can do."
All three students are passionate about the environment, something they say is becoming more common among their peers, especially with the school's environment club, now in its third year.
Arlene Anderson, a teacher involved in the project, said until now the focus of students has been on dealing with the school's waste. Students have conducted three garbage audits since 2008, where they found that a huge amount of what ends up in the trash could be composted. Since then, they've put recycling collection in all the classroom and added composting, reducing 50 per cent of the school's waste, said Anderson.
This is the first major project to branch out from that into clean energy, she said, and admitted she didn't have to do a whole lot herself. "This wouldn't have happened had they not pursued it; their follow-through is the reason we have it," she said.
The $20,000 grant covered most of the $25,000 project, with the rest being paid for with funds the club raised during the B.C. Green Games earlier this year and a contribution from the school.