Gwinnett school becomes part of first statewide solar power academic program

For Immediate Release April 24 , 2006 Lawrenceville, GA — With the unveiling of a 12-foot-tall, seven-panel solar array, Gwinnett's Mill Creek High School has become part of a new statewide program supported by Georgia electric cooperative members to promote the benefits of solar power generation and incorporate renewable energy in the classroom.

Through the Sun Power for Schools program, participating schools around the state will receive photovoltaic and metering equipment that will enable math and science classes, as well as other students, to study solar power generation and incorporate their unit's output data in classroom projects.

Mill Creek High School was selected by Jackson Electric Membership Corporation to be the cooperative's designated Sun Power for Schools partner, making the installation's educational benefits available to all Gwinnett County schools.

"Our teachers and students are very excited about being part of this program," said Mill Creek Principal James L. Markham. "We're very aware of the importance of renewable energy sources, in particular solar power, to future generations. We believe that this installation will become an important part of our school's curriculum, providing our students with a hands-on learning experience they would not otherwise have."

Jackson EMC is among the 28 Georgia electric cooperatives participating in the state's first renewable energy generation program, called Green Power EMC. These cooperatives offer clean, renewable energy to their members on a subscription basis. Part of the cost of each Green Power kilowatt hour generated goes into a research and development fund, a portion of which has been used to fund the Sun Power for Schools program.

"We're believers in the value of renewable energy and have taken a leadership role to make renewable energy available to our members," said Jackson EMC President/CEO Randall Pugh. "We're also believers in the importance of our young people and the quality of education they receive. We see this solar installation as a benefit to all of Gwinnett County's schools. Today's students will be tomorrow's energy policy decision makers, and we hope this solar program will help them better understand and appreciate the value of renewable energy."

The Mill Creek High School photovoltaic (PV) system consists of seven 165 watt polycrystalline silicon solar panels, capable of generating up to 1.2 kilowatts of power, on an adjustable pole mount. A synchronous inverter and wiring connect the PV system and deliver any power generated to the statewide grid. A data logger and metering equipment allow the system's output to be tracked and analyzed.

System output can be monitored on the Internet by visiting the school system's website, and compared to other schools around the country with solar generating systems. Students will be able to monitor DC and AC output, temperature, sunshine, current and historical system performance. A feature on the site translates the number of kilowatt hours generated into the number of homes the power could support daily and the number of hours a television could operate. Because the data is available online at a public site, any school or individual with Internet access can track the data and benefit from the project.

As part of the system installation, a teacher training session was held earlier this year to acquaint math and science teachers with the system, monitoring and how data could be incorporated into classroom projects.

Sun Power for Schools is a true partnership, with commitments of time and funding. Green Power EMC contributed the $11,000 solar installation; Jackson EMC contributed the $5,000 data logger and metering equipment, along with coordination of the installation, interconnection and metering; Mill Creek High School assisted with equipment installation, committed teachers to training on the system and agreed to implement the curriculum in classrooms for at least a year. Green Power EMC will own and monitor the equipment for three years and then turn the equipment over to the school.

Mill Creek High School is the sixth Sun Power for Schools installation. Other participating schools include Irwin County High School in Ocilla, Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Oconee High School in Watkinsville, Heritage High School in Conyers and Hiram High School in Hiram.

Statewide, 28 electric cooperatives are now members of Green Power EMC, which provides renewable energy from landfill gas, low impact hydropower and a recently announced poultry litter generation project. Green Power EMC expects to generate about 44,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2006, roughly enough energy to supply about 3,700 homes for a year.

Jackson EMC is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that services nearly 193,000 meters in 10 Northeast Georgia counties.

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