Tuesday, July 5, 2022
The Green Market Oracle
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
The Green Market Oracle
No Result
View All Result
Home Social Change Education

Georgia Schools’ Renewable Energy Leadership

by Richard Matthews
October 26, 2020
in Education, Other, Social Change
0

Innovative financing is allowing schools in Georgia to go green. Renewable energy is commonly associated with blue states but Georgia makes the point that this is changing. Since 1996 the state of Georgia has consistently voted red and yet schools in the state are turning to renewable energy to reduce costs. According to a recent report several Georgia universities are taking the lead in clean energy.  A growing number of cities are also following the lead of Atlanta, Augusta, Athens and Clarkston in adopting 100% clean energy goals. 

Recently a private school in Atlanta has laid out its plans for renewable energy leadership. The SAE school in Mableton is building a 30 kW rooftop solar array that will save the school an average of $15,000 in utilities every year or $150,000 over a 10-year time period. After that 10-year time period, they will save about $30,000 per year. This will further lower costs at SAE which are already around half of other metro Atlanta schools. Keeping costs low helps the school to better serve their diverse student body (85% minority student body) by keeping tuition low.

The SAE School will soon be Georgia’s first to be powered entirely by solar energy. The SAE School’s newly installed solar array complements other building upgrades and was made possible through GoodUse grants and private investment and federal tax credits.The project also benefited from legislation for Solar Energy Procurement Agreements (SEPA) which provides for the sale of electricity generated through the solar project to The SAE School at a rate that allows a savings of approximately $15,000 a year in utility costs. After approximately 10 years, the school will have the option to purchase the solar infrastructure and therefore almost eliminate their cost of electricity for the remaining life of the project.

The school has already conducted resource efficiency upgrades and indoor air quality improvements through grants from Southface’s GoodUse program. The solar array is the crowning achievement and is part of the school’s plan to become net zero, an initiative that is monitored by students through a real-time digital monitor in the school’s lobby. SAE students do community work and learn about sustainable best practices. All of these efforts are a reflection of the SAE’s environmentally focused philosophy. SAE School is setting an example for other schools in the state and across the country.

Gretchen Gigley, Program Manager of Nonprofit Solutions for Southface Institute wants other schools to follow SAE’s lead. She points out that although getting to net-zero can seem unattainable the financing arrangement at SAE demonstrate that it is doable.

For more information about Southface’s GoodUse program click here.

Related
Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources 2010 – 2019

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Event – DISTIBUTECH International 2021

Next Post

The Sustainable Jersey for Schools Program

Related Posts

101 Environmental Victories of 2021

Despite the Headlines, 2021 Was A Year Full of Environmental Victories

by Richard Matthews
January 4, 2022
1

You cannot be faulted for failing to notice the long list of environmental wins that occurred in 2021.  Good news stories do not have the sensationalistic allure of dramatic prophecies...

Seasons Greetings from the Green Market Oracle

by Richard Matthews
December 24, 2021
0

The False Equivalency Between Climate protests and the January 6th Insurrection

Maligning Protestors and False Equivalencies

by Richard Matthews
November 11, 2021
0

Enemies of democracy fear protestors so they find ways to malign them. In the United States, Republicans and their supporters in conservative media are selling the big lie, flouting science-based...

Next Post

The Sustainable Jersey for Schools Program

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Energy

Nuclear Energy Versus Fossil Fuels

by Richard Matthews
July 5, 2022
0

Nuclear power is garnering an increasing amount of attention as a climate-friendly energy alternative to fossil fuels which are greenhouse...

Read more
different types of economic systems assessed by sustainable development goals

Types of Economies and their Implications for Sustainability

June 28, 2022
The facts about Nuclear Energy reveal that it is safe and clean but it is not renewable

Fact Check Reveals Nuclear Energy is Safe and Clean but not Renewable

June 13, 2022

Environmental Implications of Three Types of Economies: Brown, Blue and Green

June 3, 2022

Types of Nuclear Energy: Where We Were and Where We are Today

May 31, 2022
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In