Nov 18 2010
Johnson Controls, an energy optimization solutions providing company, has declared the completion of solar power installation at Hillside Middle School located in Salt Lake City School District.
The installation was completed under the new solar for schools energy program initiated under the State Energy Program of Utah State. The program is introduced to assist the students of Utah to understand the use of renewable energy.
The Utah State Energy Program has selected Johnson Controls to supervise the design and erection of 73 PV panels at schools located all over the state. The Energy Program insists on installing a minimum of one solar array in each of its 41 school districts. The company will erect a 5 kW PV system for the schools under the program. The program received $3 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) from the U.S. Department of Energy. The Solar for Schools program offers educational resources to the students to understand the renewable energy technologies by utilizing interactive solar projects. The projects will enable the students to track the live data generated by the solar installations, evaluate the data with other schools in the state and compare the energy output understanding the locations and temperatures prevailing in each such location. The program incorporates an all inclusive K-12 syllabus and teacher guidance to understand the use of solar energy.
The project when completed is anticipated to offset over 8,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere in a period of 20 years which is equivalent to planting of 11,000 tree saplings and allow them to grow for a period of ten years.
Source: http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/