Prescott School District exploring solar power project

WAITSBURG-The future is sunny and bright for the Prescott School District. The school board plans to make a final decision on a solar array project that can save the district thousands of dollars in energy costs.

Apollo Solutions Group (ASG) approached former Prescott School District Superintendent Brett Cox before Justin Bradford took over the position this year. An Energy-Savings Company (ESCO), ASG works with clients, including school districts, universities, colleges, and city and county governments, to reduce energy consumption by updating energy infrastructure with minimal capital outlay. The company proposed installing a one-acre solar array designed to cover the district's annual electrical costs.

"They say that this array should take care of all of our electrical costs for the year," said Bradford. "Which is a substantial sum, tens of thousands of dollars in a school year."

Significant savings are one of the most attractive goals of the proposal, with Bradford saying it is essential to spend the public's money wisely.

"If we are saving money, I think it's a wise use of funds," he noted.

The location for the proposed array is on district property to the west of the school. At the October school board meeting, ASG representative John Graham said that the selected construction site is ideal due to its southern light exposure.

The school would only be responsible for a small fraction of the project's cost. The majority of the funding would come from grants sourced by ASG. In the proposal, grants awarded through ASG would cover $400,000 of the $487,000 total estimated cost. The remaining $87,000 would come from the district's capital projects fund, and the project would recoup the expense in eight years.

Bradford noted that Apollo Solutions Group is a performance contractor and will essentially guarantee the final agreed-upon cost. As an ESCO, the company assumes the construction and performance risk for the project.

"There's a lot of motivation for them to be really efficient and to be really accurate," said Bradford.

The project hinges on the school board's final decision and availability of the necessary grants. Bradford said the board directors want to go through the proposal's fine print and look through the guarantees, and he is hopeful they will move forward with the project. Should ASG be unable to secure the necessary grants, the project will put on hold until the next round of grants is available.

"Here's what I found fascinating, as a teacher," Bradford said, moving on to the next perk of the project. "I said, 'okay, I see potential here for my science classes to be involved, my CTE classes to get involved with this real-world company, see how things are installed, or help them hook things up.' So, I asked them, could we do that with you? They said absolutely!"

He is excited about the bonus educational opportunities that come with the project.

In addition to the economic and educational benefits, Bradford said he looks forward to the promise of a greener future.

"I think it's a good project," Bradford said. "It has a good return on investment, moves us into a greener future, and we're being wise with our resources."