Five South Carolina schools will soon begin generating electricity using roof-top solar panels as a result of being provided financial assistance from Palmetto Clean Energy (PaCE), a South Carolina nonprofit that promotes renewable energy resources.
PaCE’s Solar Matching Grant Pilot program targeted K-12 schools in South Carolina. The $250,000 program will cover 50 percent of a school’s rooftop solar installation – up to $50,000. K-12 schools and not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational institutions in South Carolina were eligible.
The program is aimed at enabling more schools and educational institutions to take advantage of solar technologies by assisting with upfront installation costs .
The five applicants selected for funding are:
– Bluffton High School (Beaufort County School District)
– Dixie Plantation Educational Holdings LLC, Environmental Research Stations at Dixie Plantation (College of Charleston)
– Griggs Road Elementary School (Clover School District)
– Roper Mountain Science Center (Greenville County School District)
– Whale Branch Early College High School (Beaufort County School District)
“By helping with initial installation costs, these grants enable more educational institutions to take advantage of solar technologies,” said Bob Long, chairman of the PaCE board of directors. “These matching grants can be used to cover half the cost of installing solar panels.”
The pilot program is funded by a previously announced contribution by Duke Energy. The contribution was part of a settlement agreement reached with the Environmental Defense Fund, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League during the Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger.
Installation work at the schools will likely begin in early 2014. Additional grants will be available in the spring of 2014. Information will be posted on the PaCE web site when the application process opens.
— Solar Builder magazine
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