niagara-gazette.com
Edwin J. Viera
March 10, 2021
LEWISTON – The Lewiston-Porter School District plans to equip the roofs of its buildings with solar panels.
Superintendent Paul Casseri said the district used the Iroquois Central School District as a model. Dean Stanfield, a Solar Liberty commercial sales consultant, spoke to board members about the benefits of solar energy, as well as the system their buildings would use.
“The system we developed for your roof is a ballast system,” said Stanfield. "… It is rated with 90 mph sustained winds and 100 mph gusts. There is no roof penetration, no roof warranty issues and it really is the best design. And the beauty of it is that we can add more modules because we can string them together to maximize your production and you get more credit on your electricity bill. "
The energy generated is fed back into the grid to be used elsewhere, not just in Lew-Port buildings. Stanfield said that if the district's solar plant produced 10,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) in January with a value stack of 0.088 cents from electricity companies, then the district's bill would receive a credit of $ 880.
Once the district moves this forward, there will be massive savings in energy usage, according to Stanfield, with an estimated 704,617 kWh of energy being generated by the district's solar panels. This would reduce the current electricity consumption from over 1.5 million kWh to 829,696 kWh.
Casseri said the addition of solar panels had been split into two projects, the first focusing on the Primary Education Center and Lewiston-Porter High School and the second on middle and middle schools. He added that the district offices are also being considered. Patricia Grupka, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, spoke about why these buildings were specifically considered.
"We are doing the PEC because we were already fully air-conditioned there," she said. “So we won't have any further work on these buildings at the moment and we have some really good flat roofs. Easily accessible … maximizes all of the upstairs space. We're also a bit unusual in that our builds are not made by individual builds for one build. "
Once Lew-Port's middle and middle schools are equipped with rooftop air conditioners, all work on the roof will be completed and pave the way for solar panels to be installed, Casseri said.
Board member Charlotte Hübschmann asked what would happen if the district had to carry out repairs on the roof, under the panels. Stanfield responded that in the case of roof repairs, the panels would be removed, but since it is a modular system this could remove any number of panels depending on the type of work being done. The district will consult architects beforehand to ensure that the roofs of the building can support the weight of the solar panels.
The system is expected to pay for itself in 13 years with an estimated average monthly savings of $ 5,509.76. However, the total cost to the district, following NYSERDA incentives, is $ 814,136.20.
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