Solar on Schools
For the Portland Climate Action Team, the focus has always been on what we can accomplish right here in our own town.
Climate change is a global issue, and under this current administration, the federal government is running headlong in the wrong direction. But we’ve seen time and again in this city that we can make meaningful change: we’ve got solar on landfills, drastically curbed pesticide use, more and more bike lanes, and a brand new Climate Action Fund to spur further positive changes. So what’s next?
Solar panels on schools.
Those solar arrays on the landfill and elsewhere are already saving us millions in electricity costs. We could save even more by installing solar arrays on our public schools. We can look to the town of Westbrook for inspiration: they’ve installed solar on four schools already and are projected to save $14 million over the life of the project. Here in Portland, we have three times as much roof space. So much space to capture clean sunshine!
Rooftop solar on schools is a great way to meet the climate crisis with ingenuity, but we need to speak up to make it happen.
The Portland City Council has laid out ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They declared a climate emergency in 2019, and committed to 80% less GHG emissions by 2050, 35% by 2030. (1) We are not on target to meet that. An updated GHG inventory for the City of Portland only shows a few percent decrease from the 2017 baseline.
Fortunately, there is already lots of interest in more solar!
Over 70 percent of Maine voters support solar development in their communities. (2) Most of your neighbors are already on board! We just need to let our representatives know and encourage our town to make good on those GHG goals.
Solar on schools is doable, cost-saving, and a great learning opportunity. Let’s make it happen!
