PSE Offers Renewable Energy Grants to Local Schools

Puget Sound Energy’s work in bringing renewable energy demonstration systems to Washington schools will take another step forward in 2009 with the utility today issuing a request for proposals for up to five schools to each receive a 1.1 kilowatt solar array or small wind turbine this year.

PSE’s renewable energy program for schools, which has already funded 12 educational solar power projects in the Puget Sound region in the last five years, will help students learn more about renewable energy technologies and smart energy choices. The 2009 RFP will also include small wind turbines, expanding the range of options available to local educators, students, families and communities in PSE’s 11-county electric and natural gas service area of Western Washington.

"Our environment and our economy both demand new ways of thinking about how to produce energy cleanly and to use it efficiently,” said Cal Shirley, vice president of Energy Efficiency Services for PSE. "Bringing renewable energy and energy efficiency lessons to the classroom has proven to be an outstanding way to help students learn how energy is produced, and how vital it is to use energy wisely.”

Successful applicants in the RFP process will receive grants of as much as $25,000 to fund renewable energy education through a demonstration project at their school. The grant will cover the cost of a photovoltaic or small wind turbine plus classroom monitoring software that allows students to track how much energy their system is producing as the weather changes and calculate how that energy could be used. In addition, the grant supports educational materials, including activity guides, renewable energy science kits and teacher training.

"When students are producing their own energy, they become much more focused on using that energy efficiently,” said Shirley. "It’s a real world lesson that enables the kids see how their actions and choices will affect the environment, and how they can be a positive force for change in the future.”

At 1.1 kWs, the solar array will generate enough power, on average, to operate 10 notebook computers for 1,000 hours. In addition to the rooftop-mounted solar panels or wind turbines, the PSE grant supports the purchase of an inverter to connect renewable energy generators to the school’s electrical system, monitoring software, and teaching training and lesson plans developed by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation as part of its Solar 4R Schools program.

"We’re pleased to join PSE in expanding our offerings to include wind,” said Bryce Smith, director of the Project Management Group for BEF. "Working together we have been able to reach almost 6,000 students and families in communities throughout the Puget Sound area, encouraging meaningful understanding of renewable energy today that will lead to even greater knowledge and adoption of this powerful technology in the future.”

School districts qualifying for the RFP will submit plans detailing their educational goals and objectives for a solar or wind project, how it will bring renewable energy technologies to new areas of the Puget Sound region and what steps will be taken to increase community awareness of the potential for using renewable energy technologies. All proposals must be received by PSE on or before 5 p.m. on Feb. 16, 2009, and all solar or wind systems must be installed during the 2009 school year.

PSE has been teaching students about solar and wind energy as part of its Powerful Choices for the Environment, a program for middle school students, which just celebrated its 15-year anniversary. Earlier this year, the utility also opened a Renewable Energy Center at its Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility near Ellensburg, which welcomed 17,000 visitors, many of them students, in 2008.

In 2008, five Puget Sound-area schools received almost $100,000 in grants for the installation of solar systems:

• Thomas Jefferson High School, Federal Way School District

• Marshall Middle School, Olympia

• Interlake High School, Bellevue

• South Whidbey High School, Whidbey Island

• Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island

Since 2004, PSE (working through the BEF) has funded the installation of systems at Redmond High School, Port Townsend High School, the Bellingham Environmental Learning Center, the Puget Sound Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee’s Training Center in Renton, the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, Western Washington University in Bellingham, and the Institute for Environmental Research and Education on Vashon Island.

About Puget Sound Energy

Washington state’s oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers. PSE, a subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD), meets the energy needs of its growing customer base primarily in Western Washington through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service to deliver energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.

About the Bonneville Environmental Foundation

Founded in 1998 and based in Portland, Ore., Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is an entrepreneurial non-profit that engages market forces and ingenuity to help people address our most pressing energy and water issues. Through sales of carbon offsets, BEF supports renewable energy development and education and long-term watershed restoration. Learn more at b-e-f.org.