Kraxberger Middle School Project - Current Installation

The 100-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system installed at Kraxberger Middle School is one of three similar renewable energy systems installed in 2011. These projects were implemented through a public-private partnership with the solar panels funded and installed by private energy investors and the schools providing roof space. The school will benefit from free solar power generated by these PV systems for 15 years, saving the school in annual electricity costs. The PV system installed on the school roof is rated to produce about 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

In addition to building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, the Renewable Classroom PLUS project from Solar 4R Schools has transformed the existing PV system on Kraxberger Middle School into an interactive classroom tool. Energy monitoring provided to the school connected live performance data from their PV system to the Energy Exploration Center at Solar4RSchools.org. Students and educators nationwide can chart, graph and analyze the system's performance data for educational purposes.

Educators within the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. To optimize integration of renewable energy science and technology content, every aspect of the support provided by Solar 4R Schools was customized to fit the unique focus of the school community, including topics covered in the teacher training as well as our recommendations for activities and science kit materials to make integration of this new content as efficient as possible.

A Solar 4R Schools touchscreen kiosk located in a high traffic area of the school allows visitors, parents, students and teachers to interact with the system's live performance data while learning about the science and benefits of renewable energy.