Solar Panels Installed at Irving

A group of local parents raised about $13,000 for the panels during a June 2011 fundraising race called the Chicago Ragnar relay, by running from Madison, Wisconsin back to Chicago. These funds were added to a grant awarded to Irving from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation on May 13, 2011. The grant ended up funding $8000 of the total cost of the project with the rest coming from the private funds raised by the community.

The roof-mounted panels are located at the South end of school for a nearly – but not 100% – unobstructed sun during peak hours, as well as its co-location with the school’s growing Zero Waste and School Garden initiatives.

The solar panels are also being used within curriculum at Irving school. The 1 KW solar panel is expected to power the equivalent of one classroom. Students can check up on this by tracking information from a data output device that communicates with the Irving solar panels – as well as from panels installed across the state. This information is accessible in real-time on the web for integration in a variety of curricular activities

In preparation for the solar panel installation, four teachers attended daylong professional development program in early November to learn more about ways to integrate renewable energy into lesson planning. Student groups (Student Council and Irving School Green Team) will lead plans for implementing a “solarbration” to create awareness about renewable energy in the wider community.

Solar panels are just part of a larger greening effort within the Schoolyard Project’s master plan for Irving. For example, students have already planted and harvested a school garden, new tree plantings will increase shade for the building and reduce the heat island effect and nearly every aspect of the master plan is tied into water reclamation.