Solar panels coming to most Newport-Mesa schools

In an attempt to rein in energy costs, schools across the Newport-Mesa Unified district will begin using solar energy as early as next fall.

The school board voted 6-0 on Tuesday to approve a resolution to install solar panels at almost all elementary, intermediate and high schools. Trustee Dana Black was absent.

“This is a win-win on multiple levels,” Trustee Katrina Foley said. “It’s a way for us to reduce our expenses for operations as it relates to energy consumption, and it preserves community and natural resources.”

The district will partially fund the roughly $13 million project through energy incentives like the 2012 California Clean Energy Jobs Act, which provides up to $550 million annually to schools interested in improving energy efficiency, said Tim Marsh, director of facilities. The district also will spend $6 million in general-fund money that has been slated for building projects.

Officials anticipate the solar panels will save Newport-Mesa $10 million to $25 million during the next 25 years.

“We know it’s going to save us money in the long run,” Marsh said.

The district will begin installing the solar panels in the parking lots at Corona del Mar, Estancia, Newport Harbor and Costa Mesa high schools in December. The power generated from the panels will be redirected into the buildings through utility meters set up on each campus.

The majority of the work at CdM will be completed during school breaks due to the limited amount of parking around the school.

Construction likely will begin in June at the elementary schools, Back Bay High School and the district office on Bear Street in Costa Mesa, according to district documents.

The panels will be installed above the lunch tables on the blacktops at most of the elementary schools. That has a dual purpose of making the schools more energy-efficient while providing students with a shady place to sit during recess and lunchtime, Marsh said.

Students will be able to monitor energy consumption at each school using an online database that officials believe will be useful in science, business and engineering classes.

Newport Elementary on the Balboa Peninsula is lacking in parking and campus space and therefore is the only school that does not have solar capability, Marsh said.

The district will hold public meetings at the schools between October and April to get feedback about the placement of the panels.

“Solar is the next natural progression for schools,” said energy manager Kent Ramseyer. “We’re proud to be on the leading edge of energy-efficient school districts.”