New Berlin School District is partnering with WE Energies and SunVest Solar of Pewaukee to install more than 2 MW of solar PV at three schools. Through this first project of We Energies’ Solar Now program, which has the goal to provide 35 MW of renewable energy to its customers, the electricity from New Berlin School District’s 8,000 panels will go directly into the grid to power an estimated 400 homes.
The school district will receive $94,500 a year for the next 20 years from the utility for the use of their roofs (rent-a-roof), although the district is responsible for any interim reroofing and the costs to decommission and reinstall the solar systems on the new roofs. The rooftop systems being installed now should be completed late August, with the ground mount array to be completed in September. While not supplying electricity directly to the schools, the solar systems can be used as a learning opportunity for students. JS