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Wilderness Charter School begins new solar project By AMBER FOSSEN Ashland Daily Tidings The Wilderness Charter School will be soaking up sun rays this year with its new solar electric system. Charter school students will monitor four photovoltaic modules as they're introduced to the benefits of sustainable and renewable energy. The solar project, made possible through the Ashland Renewable Pioneers Program, is the latest project in an effort by the city to promote and support renewable energy in Ashland. "I suspect, as the students are here monitoring, they'll start turning off lights," said Dick Wanderscheid, City of Ashland director of electric and telecommunications. Wanderscheid said once people are aware of how much they're consuming, the average use drops by about 10 percent. "All of a sudden, people go 'Wow, I use that much water, how can I limit that?' They're much more responsive to using resources wisely." Wanderscheid said the city partnered with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation - which offers Green Tags or renewable energy certificates to utility customers (or Renewable Pioneers) to purchase in support of renewable power projects within the city of Ashland - to secure funds for the project. Additional funds were contributed by the city in addition to the Ashland Schools Foundation. According to Bob-O Schultze, renewable energy specialist, the four 165-watt panels, is a simple system that won't require up-keep. "It's totally seamless and it really requires no maintenance," Schultze said. Schultze has been working on renewable energy projects in the valley since 1990. He said the basic minimal photovoltaic system runs about $10,000. Ashland has nine net-metered systems, which allows customers to generate their own energy while remaining connected to the main electrical grid. If the solar system doesn't produce enough energy, the net-metered system would enable homes and businesses to use electricity. On the other hand, if the solar system is producing more energy than it uses, the city will buy back up to 1,000 kilowatt hours per month at retail value. More than 1,000 kilowatt hours per month would be purchased at wholesale cost, according to city officials. "Anyone who puts up a PV system can be reimbursed from the city," Wanderscheid said. "In Ashland, what we do is pay retail cost. It's another way we try to encourage people to invest in this technology." While there are the financial benefits, Charter school director Katie Holden - who is replacing Jim Haim for the 2003-04 school year while he finishes his master's in education - is looking at the educational possibilities. "It's reasonable both economically and environmentally," Holden said, "and it's exposing students to sustainable technology." According to Holden, students will be monitoring the solar project throughout the year. "We do an ecological foot-printing project," Holden said, explaining students will look at how much they're consuming. "Ecological foot-printing is a way of quantifying our impact on the Earth and human resource use. Basically, with the solar system, you're cutting out a lot of resources." Haim - who helped install the panels at the end of July with assistance from Ashland Electric, Schultze, former Ashland High student Kevin Spears and Southern Oregon University student Matt Henry, among others - said this is just the beginning. "Our goal is to get another four panels up," Haim said. A tour of solar and renewable energy projects in Ashland will begin 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Wilderness Charter School. The tour - co-sponsored by the City of Ashland and Home Power magazine in conjunction with a statewide solar home tour to kick off October's Energy Awareness Month - will include homes that feature solar water heating, solar electric, wind electric and other projects. For more information or to RSVP call Larry Giardina, City of Ashland conservation analyst, at 552-2065 or Joe Schwartz, CEO and technical editor of Home Power magazine, at 512-0201. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -