North Cook News

Barrington District 220 energy specialist Marc Lewis is advocating for the school board's plans to install and utilize solar energy at schools districtwide.

According to PV Magazine, over 7300 K-12 schools in the US have converted to solar energy to power their buildings, roughly 5.5% of all schools in the nation. This is a 81% increase since 2014. 79% of solar installation in schools has been done through a third-party agreement, meaning the school provides the area and receives discounted energy rates through the third party.

Lewis made his proposal at the June 7 Barrington 220 board of education meeting.

"...incorporating a sustainable system can be used in our district’s curriculum so we can have hands-on learning experiences for our students," Lewis said. "These projects can educate our students on the importance and functionality of green and renewable energy."

Solar Renewable Energy Credits, known as S Recs, are produced by any and all solar energy systems. 1 S Rec is equal to 1000kWh (1mWh). According to Solar United Neighbors, many states, companies, and organizations are required to purchase a certain number of S Recs each year to achieve sustainability levels, thus any S Recs produced do have monetary value and can be used as such.

In their old partnership with Cenergistic, a nationwide energy conservation company, which has since ended, the Barrington school district saved almost $1 million over the four-year contract, reduced its energy consumption by 30% and reduced its costs related to natural gas by 22%.