Solar Integrated Technologies and GE Commercial Finance will shoulder the installation and 20-year maintenance costs of 1 million square feet of these solar roofs. In exchange, the district will commit to buying the energy generated from the roofs. The district expects to save more than $7 million over 20 years in electricity costs and avoided roofing material and maintenance costs.
In addition to the expected costs savings, the roofs will also be used for education. The district is developing a curriculum that will allow students in science classes to monitor their school's solar power generation on a sophisticated, real-time computer display.
A total of 14 schools and administrative buildings will get the solar roofs over the next two years.
