Temecula Valley USD To Save $35 Million with Solar Power

The Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) is adding a six megawatt solar installation and an energy storage project in an effort to reduce energy costs.

The project, which is expected to save more than $520,000 in its first year and $35 million over its 25 year life, will stretch across 19 campuses, with 18 solar carports, two ground mount arrays and DemandLogic energy storage systems at five sites. Taken together, the storage systems will have 2,600 kilowatt hours of capacity, to be used during peak demand times.

SolarCity, which is installing and managing the system, will also provide its PowerGuide, a monitoring system that will allow students to see how much power the system is providing on an hourly, daily, monthly and yearly basis.

"Like many schools districts across the county, Temecula Valley has faced increasing budget cuts and rising operational expenses," said Janet Dixon, director of facilities development at TVUSD, in a prepared statement. "With SolarCity, we found a creative way to cut our electricity bills. This money will free up funds for the district to invest in student programs and curriculum."

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Abstract glowing network nodes forming conversation bubbles

    OpenAI Intros Dots, AI Agents that Continue Working Between User Conversations

    OpenAI has introduced Dots, GPT-6 Astra-powered agents that run on their own cloud computers, using connected applications to carry on with assignments between conversations and incorporating users' feedback as they go.

  • Class CrunchLabs YouTube channel

    Mark Rober's Class CrunchLabs Courses Now Available for Free on YouTube

    Class CrunchLabs, the suite of free curriculum resources from NASA engineer turned YouTube science communicator Mark Rober, has released its first two courses on YouTube.

  • education funding and graduation symbols on wooden dice

    What Is the Education Freedom Tax Credit and How Will It Work?

    The federal Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) is a new source of funding for education that could benefit 90% of students in states that have opted in to the program. However, some confusion and misconceptions exist surrounding details of the program, including which programs may qualify, how parents can apply for scholarships, and how public school students can benefit.

  • circuit patterns

    Anthropic Intros Lower-Cost Claude Sonnet 5

    Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 5, positioning the model as its most autonomous mid-tier offering to date and a lower-cost alternative to its flagship Opus 4.8 system. The company said the model can plan multi-step tasks, operate tools such as browsers and terminals, and complete agentic work at a level that previously required larger and more expensive models.