August 1, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Redmond, Wash. – Lake Washington School District is continuing its work toward resource conservation by installing more solar panels in schools and other district buildings. Evergreen Junior High is the first of three buildings in line to receive solar panels within the next few months. Installation of the panels began on Friday, August 1. Evergreen Junior High is located at 6900 208th N.E., Redmond, Wash.

Conserving energy with solar panels
A total of 60 solar panels will be installed at Evergreen Junior High, which will produce a maximum of 12-kilowatts (kW) of power. The system was designed with the intent of producing nearly the same amount of power that is used by the school’s nine portable classrooms. The total cost of the project at Evergreen is $200,000, which will be paid for with funds from the Capital Projects Levy that passed in 2006.

Eastlake High School in Sammamish and the school district’s Support Services Center building in Redmond will be the next two locations to receive solar panels. Installation is expected to take place in September.

Solar panel installation is part of Lake Washington School District’s Resource Conservation Management Program, which began in 2005. The projects will each generate about $2,000 per year from Puget Sound Energy (PSE) for the solar energy that Evergreen and Eastlake produce.

“These solar projects not only provide money and generate clean electricity, but they also serve as an educational resource for the students in the district,” noted Chuck Collins, the contracted Resource Conservation Manager for Lake Washington School District.

Evergreen Junior High feeds students into both Eastlake High and Redmond High School, which already has a solar panel pilot program that the district plans to expand. Students attending these schools will have the opportunity to study solar energy in junior high and high school.

Solar panels at Redmond High School
The six solar panels at Redmond High produce 1,000-kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which supplements the electricity used by the school. Since 2005, the Redmond High panels have created enough solar electricity to power about 60 homes for one day.

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About Lake Washington: Lake Washington School District is a high-performing public school district serving Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish, Washington. It is the sixth largest district in the state of Washington, with over 23,000 students in 50 schools.