California School District to Save $43M from 7.1MW Solar System, Efficiency Upgrades

New solar installations and energy efficiency projects are expected to save a Silicon Valley school district $3 million dollars next year- enough to cover the salaries of 30 teachers.

And over the life of the projects, the East Side Union High School District expects to save about $43 million.

At a time when the school district faces painful budget cuts- similar to the situation found at schools across the country – the savings are most welcome.

Chevron Energy Solutions installed 7.1 MW of solar, the largest solar project for any school district in the US. The solar and energy efficiency systems will reduce its annual electrical usage by more than 55%.

The school district is one of the largest in California. It covers a 180 square mile area in San Jose and serves nearly 24,000 students at its 18 high schools.

Chevron also provided professional development for teachers in the form of curriculum and hands-on experiments to use for educational purposes with students.

Chevron designed, constructed the systems and will operate and maintain them. It also measures and guarantees the solar system’s performance. The company also engineered and installed the energy efficiency improvements including lighting upgrades and installation of efficiency motors.