Team & Process

Green Power EMC is a collection of 29 electric membership cooperatives in Georgia who give over 3,000,000 residents the option to support “green” energy sources such as solar, low-impact hydro and biomass. A portion of the proceeds from green power sales is put in a renewable energy research and development fund (R&D). In 2004, Green Power EMC decided to allocate R&D funds to solar education in schools located in their service area. Solar projects in California, Florida and New York schools provided compelling precedent that onsite PV arrays and real time data offer unique learning tools applicable to a broad spectrum of subject areas. Green Power EMC felt they could build on these models and further their mission as a renewable energy provider and advocate.

Led by Alan Shedd of Jackson EMC, Green Power EMC asked for six of their member cooperatives to participate in phase one of the installations. Each cooperative serves as the primary liaison for the participating school of their choice in their region. Throughout the duration of the program they will be on hand to answer questions, troubleshoot and provide maintenance to the system. The first set of partnerships in order of installation are as follows:

Irwin County High School / Irwin EMC
Sandy Creek High School / Cowetta-Fayette EMC
Oconee County High School / Walton EMC
Heritage High School / Snapping Shoals EMC
Hiram High School / Greystone Power
Mill Creek High School / Jackson EMC

During the phase one, the Sun Power for Schools program targeted high and middle schools. It was felt that solar energy concepts and associated performance data could be easily integrated with the existing educational frameworks for upper level Math and Science courses. While exclusion of elementary schools narrowed the pool of available school partners, limitations came mainly from the challenge of finding enthusiastic school partners and from some co-ops only serving a couple of schools. Schools needed to meet basic site constraints including good southern exposure, ready access to a power supply and high visibility in the community.

Additionally, schools had to commit to help coordinate site work, provide internet access through their network to accommodate the data acquisition system, provide teachers for program training, implement relevant curriculum in the classroom and assume the maintenance for the PV array after three years.

OneWorld Sustainable Energy Corporation and Horizon Multimedia Systems undertook the physical installation of the first six systems as well as the electrical work to connect to the grid and the communication lines. OneWorld had been heavily involved with a previous solar schools project with the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) and was well suited to work with school administrators as they decided where and how to site their array for maximum visibility and performance.

	Oconee High. Left to right: Tim Blackwell, OneWorld Sustainable Energy Corporation; Greg Brook, Walton EMC; Alan Shedd, Jackson EMC; Keith Freeman, OneWorld; Cy Martinez, Horizon Multimedia Systems.

To help execute the educational component of Sun Power for Schools, Green Power solicited the expertise of Southface. Southface is a 28-year-old nonprofit working to promote sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through research, education, advocacy and technical assistance in the southeastern United States. Since 1999 Southface has partnered with The Department of Energy in the Million Solar Roof Initiative (MSRI). MSRI works with state and local organizations to create a competitive market for solar energy through training workshops, home energy clinics, fact sheets, case studies and solar tours. Under the umbrella of MSRI, Southface coordinated teacher education and follow-up in the Sun Power for Schools project as well as disseminated the results to other educators and solar enthusiasts for green power.