Schools to receive nearly $10 million rebate

After installing solar arrays at five schools, the Carson City School District will receive a $9.7 million rebate from NV Energy at today's school board meeting.

The rebate, through NV Energy's SolarGenerations program, will cut the district's $11 million bill for the project to $1.25 million.

Tony Turley, finance director for the school district, has said a conservative estimate is that the school district would save $400,000 in energy costs annually, and the project will pay for itself in about three years.

Project contractor, Hamilton Solar of Reno, installed 9,604 photovoltaic solar panels at five schools, enough to cover three football fields.

According to NV Energy, the solar panels are expected to reduce the district's annual electricity usage by 2.9 to 3.9 million kilowatt hours, equivalent to the amount of electricity required to power 300 to 400 homes in Northern Nevada for a year.

Mary Simmons, vice president of NV Energy, attended the grand opening of the 60,000-square-foot array at Seeliger Elementary School in June.

"All the way around, it's a wonderful project," she said.

The district also is anticipating an $80,000 savings in annual energy costs through the Nevada State Office of Energy's Schools Program by installing new LED and fluorescent lighting.

"Not only are we saving money and improving operations, but we are providing a better learning environment for students, staff, and anyone else that utilizes our facilities," said Mark Korinek, director of operations for the school district.

About 4,600 lights were replaced at Fremont and Mark Twain elementary schools. About 1,000 lights were replaced inside Carson High School and 47 LED lights were installed in the north parking lot, adding up to nearly one-third of the lights in the 330,000 square foot facility.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.