Solar technology is being used in New York City schools to power buildings and engage pupils.
Solar panels cover the roofs of 60 public schools, providing clean electricity for the city and allowing kids to get up close and personal with climate change and renewable energy, according to New York Daily News.
A newly finished solar system at Thomas Edison High School in Queens provides enough power to fulfill 65 percent of the school’s energy use — while simultaneously offering a unique learning opportunity for students enrolled in the school’s solar energy vocational track.
“There’s a renewed interest in our curriculum,” headmaster Moses Ojeda stated. “With the installation of solar panels, the pupils are beginning to grasp the significance.”
The Edison initiative is part of what officials from the municipal Education Department and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services describe as a mutually beneficial collaboration.
In 2016, the Administrative Services Department started inspecting city-owned buildings for ideal locations for solar panel installation, with the objective of generating 100 megawatts of solar energy per year by 2025.
So far, the city has installed solar panels on 110 structures, including 60 schools, generating 16 megawatts of electricity each year – enough to power 2,600 houses.
While the city’s solar installation initiative was taking shape, the Education Department began expanding its efforts to teach about climate change and renewable energy in schools, partnering with the nonprofit Solar One to provide professional development for teachers and launching a solar energy vocational track that is now available in 14 schools.
According to DOE officials, 1,350 instructors and 3,200 pupils have benefited from the solar education initiatives.
Edison High, one of the city’s major Career and Technical Education high schools, began its solar program in 2018 to assist students in keeping up with the changing employment market, according to Ojeda.
From the beginning, the program took use of the city’s solar panel project to provide kids the opportunity to accompany workers up to school roofs and see the installations up close.
Officials from both the Education and Administrative Services Departments said that the collaboration would continue as the city tries to reach its renewable energy production targets.