Glendale school officials move to install new solar panels

After installing solar panels on nearly half of the district’s campuses, Glendale school officials aren’t done yet.

The school board recently agreed to apply for clean renewable energy bonds to pay for installing panels at nine schools, only one of which — Glendale High — already has solar panels.

With $432 million available in energy bonds for public facilities nationwide, Glendale school board members plan to apply for about $12 million to cover the panel installation.

Steve Nielsen, a consultant the district hired from Coronado, Calif.- based MuniBond Solar to explore the cost and savings of installation, said the district’s application may be filed by December, and that the school board could consider the final design of the panels in May or June.

Construction could begin in the summer of 2017, he added.

The panels would be installed at Hoover and Glendale high schools, Wilson and Toll middle schools, as well as Horace Mann, R.D. White, John Muir, Cerritos, and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools.

In all, the panels would generate 2.6 megawatts of power, potentially saving the district about $31 million over the panels’ estimated 30-year life span, according to a district report.

“This all makes sense. I’m excited about it,” said school board member Greg Krikorian. “I think we need to take advantage of what we can.”

Many of the panels will be installed on stand-alone structures, an approach school officials have already taken at many of the district’s schools where solar panels help provide shade for cars parked on campus and students on playgrounds.

The nine schools selected for potential installation were chosen because of the energy savings they could provide in return.

“These are the school sites where we feel we’re going to get the best bang for our buck,” said Alan Reising, director of facilities.