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The Energy You Need.
The Environment You Want.
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An education in alternatives
BHS to get solar panels from Seattle City Light
By Adam Richter
Ballard News Tribune, February 19th, 2003
Seattle Public Schools could stand some good news these days, what with non-stop talk of deficits and shrinking budgets. Last week Ballard High School principal Method Odoemene worked out a deal with Seattle City Light to bring a new educational tool to the school for a price that ought to make any accountant beam with joy: nada. Nothing. Zip. Free. Gratis.
Later this year the utility, through its Green Power program, will donate some solar panels to Ballard High School. Odoemene found an electrician and other volunteers who can install the panels for free.
Without that help, the school might not have been able to get the solar panels. Odoemene said he could not have turned to the financially strapped district for help.
"Seattle Public Schools is not about to help us with installation," he said.
Ballard won't be the only school in the city making this token attempt at alternative energy. Greenwood Elementary School had them installed last year and City Light is planning another system for Washington Middle School. But Ballard High could be the first high school in the city to use solar panels. To Odoemene, who has a background in environmental geology, getting the solar panels was an important detail. He wants to see more environmental education at the school, and this was one crucial step in that direction.
"There is an alternative way to bring energy into our homes and into our [commercial] buildings," said Odoemene.
The panels won't make much of a dent in the school's electricity bills, however. Solar energy is notoriously inefficient. It's great for powering handheld calculators, but a school building is another matter entirely. Chemistry teacher Jeff Cleveland, one of the science teachers who's pushing for the project, said the panels would mostly be used for education. They're not that useful for much else.
"Sixty solar panels is not a lot of electricity," he said. "One hundred solar panels is not a lot of electricity."
That hardly matters to Cleveland, who, like Odoemene, wants students to learn about other, renewable forms of energy.
"We need to enlighten people that there are alternatives," he said. "These [oil and gas] resources are not infinite."
Trite as it sounds, the students sitting in Cleveland's classroom belong to the generation that will need to find other sources of energy.
"Our decision-making days as adults are over," he said.
Odoemene wants to make sure those students are prepared for that scenario. He spoke of creating a broader environmental sciences academy. It won't be an academy in the same sense as Ballard's Biotech Academy or Maritime Academy, which teach highly specialized skills to a specific group of students. Rather, he wants the environmental sciences program to reach as many students as possible.
And for Odoemene, that education begins with the arrival of the solar panels.
"I want to involve my students from the word 'go,'" he said.
Originally the solar panels were to be installed on the school's roof, where they would be visible from 15th Avenue Northwest. That installation would require a long permitting process, however, which could delay the program for six to eight months.
Instead, Odoemene wants to have solar panels installed on a couple of seven-foot-high poles, near the southeast corner of the school, next to the athletic fields. The closer proximity will allow for better hands-on learning, he said.
"We think schools are a wonderful opportunity" for solar power, said Jack Brautigam from Seattle City Light. The Green Power program, which pays for solar panels that go mostly to schools, is funded by voluntary donations from Seattle City Light customers. None of the program's funding comes from the general fund.
Panels cost roughly $9,000 each, and installation costs vary - except in the case of Ballard High, which got a grant for the panels and volunteer help to install them.
Odoemene's environmental learning plans don't stop there. He's also lobbying to get a greenhouse built, one that might also use solar energy.
It sounds frivolous, but the old Ballard High School had one. A greenhouse was planned for the new school when it was built in 1999. Dick Scheumann, a member of the Ballard High School Foundation and a Class of 1952 alumnus, helped orchestrate the fund-raising efforts to build a greenhouse there. So far, all that's left to do is the paperwork.
"It was feasible to have built it last summer," he said. "We'd like to build it this summer."
Many science teachers want the greenhouse. Former principal David Engle also lobbied to get it built when he ran Ballard High School. The Foundation offered to raise money to build the greenhouse. All the school would have to pay for would be the utilities. Odoemene said he's considering going back to Seattle City Light to outfit the greenhouse with solar panels. That, he helps, could defray some of the operating costs.
Principal Odoemene doesn't plan, or want to work alone on either project. He said he will work with Ballard High School's Building Leadership Team and also wants to work with the community to get both projects off the ground.
"People [in the neighborhood] have ownership of this school," he said. Their help will be important to the future Odoemene's ambitious program.
Kinko's Increases Green Power Purchases with Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, and Snohomish County PUD
Kinko's News Release, February 12, 2003
DALLAS and SEATTLE - Kinko's, Inc. has teamed with Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) to convert some of the energy demands for Kinko's® Puget Sound-area stores to green power.
Twenty-nine Kinko's locations will purchase from five to 25 percent of their power in the form of renewable energy for an average of more than 626,400 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually. A purchase of this size offsets carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as much as not driving the average car almost 940,000 miles during the same period. This is also the equivalent of planting 174 acres of trees.
Together with other agreements announced today across the U.S., Kinko's estimated renewable power purchases now total more than 11.2 million kWh per year.
"At Kinko's, working toward a sustainable future is one of our core values," stated Heather Clark, operations director for Kinko's. "Together with Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and Snohomish County PUD, Kinko's will be able to achieve lasting benefits for both our local community and the planet as a whole."
Sixteen Kinko's locations are buying renewable power through Puget Sound Energy's Green Power Plan, which is supplied by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing new sources of renewable energy. Participating stores are located in Bellevue, Bellingham, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Olympia, Puyallup, Redmond, Silverdale, Tukwila and Woodinville.
"We are delighted to see Kinko's embrace green power," said Liz Norton, marketing manager at Puget Sound Energy. "The Kinko's locations within our territory will add 346,800 kWh of green power to the Northwest grid annually. This commitment to building a sustainable future is an excellent model for commercial customers."
Ten Kinko's locations in Seattle and Shoreline have enrolled in Seattle City Light's Green Power program, the benefits of which includes supporting the acquisition of new, local renewable energy resources such as electricity produced from solar photovoltaics, wastewater treatment facilities and landfill gas.
"Kinko's leadership in supporting green power sets an example we hope other companies will follow," says Gary Zarker, superintendent of Seattle City Light. "Their commitment to renewable energy is making a tremendous difference in our community and across the nation."
Three participating locations in Bothell, Lynnwood and Everett are served by Snohomish County PUD's Planet Power, which offers customers the opportunity to purchase 150 kilowatt-hour blocks of wind power and support renewable energy development through BEF.
"We commend Kinko's for taking a strong leadership position in support of the environment," said Doris Abravanel, Snohomish County PUD product manager. "They are now our biggest purchaser of Planet Power. We hope to see other businesses follow their lead."
Kinko's now purchases renewable power at 35 branches in 20 communities throughout Washington State, including previous agreements in Pullman, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver. Kinko's made its first two renewable energy purchases in California and Pennsylvania in 1999 and now buys green power for 150 stores in 13 states. Other environmental initiatives include reducing energy use, offering recycled and alternative fiber papers, and minimizing and recycling wastes.
According to surveys of retail power purchasing trends in the Pacific Northwest by Renewable Northwest Project (RNP), green power demand in the four-state region was at 47.1 million kWh per year in 2001, and reached more than 160 million kWh in 2002.
"Purchases made by commercial customers like Kinko's really drive the market forward, and they should be commended for taking a leadership role," said Natalie McIntire, green power programs coordinator at RNP, a regional non-profit promoting the use of solar, wind and geothermal resources.
Mayor introduces City Light's Green Power Program
On a cold, gray, late January day, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and students from Pathfinder Elementary School in West Seattle showed Green Power in action. The audience of attendees and local news media had plenty to see.
They used a blender, a video tape player, lights and an electric saw, all powered with solar energy to kick off City Light's new Green Power program. Even on a gray day in Seattle everyone saw that solar power works!
Mayor Nickels also added his name to those participating in the voluntary program, which allows customers to choose to pay an additional amount on their City Light bills to purchase renewable resources for the city's power supply and to place solar installations on public buildings.
Joining the Mayor for the event were School Superintendent Joseph Olshefske, Chair of Seattle City Council's Energy and Environmental Policy Committee Heidi Wills, and City Light Superintendent Gary Zarker.
Schools will be among the first to benefit from SCL's voluntary greenpower program. Funds will be used to install solar generating equipment at qualified school sites. The primary purpose is to help heighten awareness of solar power and its environmental benefits among our children and community
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