Members of the Board of Education, Superintendent George Arlotto, elected officials, and officials with Standard Solar made history today by cutting the ribbon on a large-scale solar panel farm that marks a huge step forward in the use of renewable energy sources for Maryland’s fifth largest school system.
The product, installed on property at Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Facilities Division complex on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena, contains nearly 4,000 solar panels that will produce almost 2,000 megawatt hours of energy annually. That equates to nearly $1.8 million in projected savings for the school system over the next 20 years.
“This is a great day for our school system and our county,” Dr. Arlotto said. “We have more than 13 million square feet of facility space in our school system, and as we teach our students the importance of environmental stewardship, this is one big way in which we can lead by example.”
The project is expected to offset more than 41,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over its life. That is equivalent to driving a car around the earth 3,971 times during that time, or one year of carbon dioxide emissions from 4,357 homes.
“This partnership with AACPS is a clear example of how school systems, counties, municipalities, and more can benefit from solar and its resulting cost savings through taking advantage of smart financing,” said Scott Wiater, CEO of Standard Solar, which installed and will operate the solar panel farm.
Standard Solar will own, maintain, and operate the system. AACPS will pay $.06 per kilowatt hour for electricity generated by the system.