LOWER LAKE—New solar PV systems and several other upgrades at the Konocti Unified School District (KUSD) were presented to the public in Lower Lake Friday at the district office. School board members and Superintendent Becky Salato activated the district’s new solar-powered electrical system, sponsored by Climatec, expert in building and energy solutions.
“We got introduced to the District through a group called Capitol Advisors. They’re a partner with a lot of medium and small school districts throughout the state, supporting them on information from the Capitol, politics, budgets, finance… There’s a lot of infrastructure needs, a lot of challenges to get projects done in campuses and in school; facility funding – it is always a challenge to get money to do projects,” said Business Development manager with Climatec, Rob Reading. The company is responsible for the solar panel systems installation and various improvements for KUSD, such as replacement of a total of 120 air conditioners, modernized HVAC systems to reduce energy use, smart-building automation technologies and LED lighting, with bulbs that will last for 10 or more years.
“Solar had been something that the district had looked at many times in the past and just never penciled out. In combination with a lot of the other projects that the district was trying to get done, it made economic sense finally to move forward and to look at the future. With Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) rates going up, to avoid whatever impact those costs would have on the school’s budgets, this gives them a huge way to predict what their actual costs to operate their schools are going to be and not being at risk of whatever changes or rates. The school board saw the vision and understood. This makes good sense for the district. It’s a good financial and sustainable green move, and they wanted to move in that direction”, he added.
“At Konocti Unified, we’re interested in setting up resilient facilities. Using renewable solar power decreases our expenses and allows us to put resources towards other student needs,” said Salato. “This is part one of a two-part modernization plan to install energy efficient technologies. Climatec projects an 83% reduction in energy usage and $20 million in general fund relief over the useful life of all equipment once the whole plan is fully implemented.”
Structural reinforcements, protective solar netting and power resiliency through backup power systems provide newfound independence from PG&E’s electrical grid. “The solar panels represent a huge step forward for Konocti Unified, and this is just the beginning. We will continue to seek technology and solutions that can enhance our district,” said Salato. “By investing in renewable energy, we take care of our planet while decreasing our utility bill, and we are putting those savings into student programs.”
For Reading, the timing was great to partner with Konocti Unified School District: “a couple of years ago, heading into the pandemic, seeing an opportunity between some federal stimulus money that they had, understanding the need to improve the air quality in their classrooms, wanting to make a big difference and finding a partner like Climatec that can make multiple changes to their buildings to improve the learning environment; and, then, pairing it with things like solar and generators to keep the lights on and preserve their budgets… Utilities rates go up and up. This is a way of getting projects done today when they’re cheaper than they will be years out and seeing economic benefit year over year, for decades to come,” Reading said.
