Largest School Solar Installation in Marin County
San Domenico School and Recurrent Energy, a San Francisco-based distributed power company and a leading provider of onsite solar energy, installed a 412 kilowatt solar energy system on January 30, 2009—the largest school installation in Marin County.
The installation consists of 2,358 photovoltaic panels, spread across several roof and ground-mounted arrays, covering almost one full football field in total. Recurrent Energy finances, owns, and operates the solar energy system, and worked with Sonoma-based Solaris Solar for construction of the installation. The company sells 100% of the electricity produced—which offsets nearly 85% of San Domenico's annual cost—under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). In return, San Domenico receives predictable and reduced energy costs, without the up-front capital costs and risks of solar power plant ownership.
"We are excited to be running our school on electricity generated at our school," said Mathew Heersche, San Domenico's former head of school, in 2009, "while the students have already been actively involved in making sustainable lifestyle choices at home and in the community, we look forward to continuing their education in eco-responsibility and, overall, in a sustainable environment."
Recurrent Energy's installation reduces carbon emissions by 860,000 pounds annually as determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That is equivalent to removing 70 vehicles from the road, preserving 3 acres of forest from deforestation, or serving 60 U.S. households' electricity needs. All renewable energy credits from this project are owned by Recurrent Energy and are sold to a third party.
"We are grateful to San Domenico for hosting this solar energy system and for their tireless dedication throughout the installation," said Recurrent Energy's VP of Development, Sheldon Kimber, "their commitment to this project has been inspiring and sets a high bar for schools across the country to follow suit."
Learn more from our Solar FAQ sheet (pdf)