Greentech Media is the latest publication impressed by Santa Barbara Unified’s commitment to resiliency and renewable energy. The District is procuring solar PV and solar-powered microgrid systems at 18 sites, with a big lift from Sage Energy Consulting and its partner, the Clean Coalition:
The RFP process, designed and run by Clean Coalition and clean energy engineering firm Sage Energy Consulting, developed a sophisticated method for valuing resilience. It breaks down all the various school building loads into a clear hierarchy, and determines which loads need full-time support, which ones should be backed up most of the time, and which ones are nice to have if there’s energy to spare.
But perhaps the most striking aspect of the deal is that it pencils even without factoring that in, simply on the basis of cash saved from utility bills.
“Over the lifetime of the project, the school district will definitely be saving money compared to a business-as-usual, stick with the utility approach,” said Dana Coe, who helped craft the design as a senior project manager at Sage.