MVDHS gets board’s first solar panel system

Madawaska Valley District High School is now producing electricity through alternative sources of energy as it recently installed the first microfit solar panel system in the Renfrew County District School Board.

The six-kilowatt ground-mounted fixed-panel system is being funded by the school board, which has signed a 20-year contract with the provincial government to produce electricity that goes straight to the grid.

In return, the board gets 64.2 cents per kilowatt hour for all the electricity it produces.

Lauren Wilson, the MVDHS principal, said she, as the co-chair of the board's conservation committee, has been pushing the board to get into such programs for a long time.

She said after discussion, the committee recommended MVDHS as a good site for the project.

Once approved by the board, the school had to then wait for all the financing and applications to be finalized.

Jeff Millar of Ottawa Valley Solar – who installed the panels – said applications were required for both the Ontario Power Authority and from Hydro.

After that was approved, construction happened very quickly at the school.

Wilson noted the costs of the equipment have come down a lot and the system was installed for about $38,000 instead of the original estimate of $55,000.

She also said with the return rates, the system pays for itself in about eight or nine years.

The final system, which sits along the edge of the field in between the school and the soccer field, actually will produce more energy than originally estimated.

Millar said since prices for the equipment have come down so much in the last year, the originally-planned five kilowatt system was increased to a six kilowatt system.

"So you get a little more power for the same price," he said.

For explanation's sake, Millar said that's enough energy to power about two houses.

Where the panels sit, they will run at about 90 or 92 per cent efficiency.

Millar said the location was chosen partially for aesthetics (so the panels wouldn't encroach too much on the field) and based on the shading from the surrounding trees.

The panels are not yet producing electricity, however. Brian Yemen of Yemen Electric – who is connecting the panels – said it will probably be another six weeks because they need to wait for an electrical inspection and for a permit from hydro.

They also need to put the inverter on the panel, which switches the DC-produced power into useable AC power.

Once things are up and running, the school will have a live-feed monitoring system that will allow students and staff to see how much energy is being produced.

Overall, Millar said the system is a win-win situation.

"It covers itself financially," he said referring to the monthly cheques the board will receive for producing the electricity, "and there's the education factor for the kids."

Wilson echoed this sentiment.

She said the school is excited at the different ways the information can be incorporated into the school's specialist high skills major programs such as construction, energy and environment.

During the initial phase, some students even had the opportunity to help with the system's construction.

But the hands-on aspect isn't the only benefit; there are the environmental ones as well.

"This is about helping our kids see the future and feel they are a part of it," Wilson said.