This project funded by

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Riverstone Community School

Grade Level:
PK-12
Location:
Boise, ID
PV System Size:
1.10 - kilowatts
Technology Type:
About the School:

As a Renewable School, Riverstone International School is building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, generating clean energy through their 1.1-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system, and leveraging the system's performance data as an educational tool to bring energy topics to life in their classrooms.

In 2007, 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. Energy monitoring provided by the Solar 4R Schools program made the live performance data from their PV system available for educational purposes.

The project fits well with the progressive day school’s focus on academic excellence, outdoor education and environmental awareness. The PV system adds a hands-on element to the fifth grade students’ solar fair, where students build solar ovens, model solar homes and mini-photovoltaic cells. In addition, the system was the impetus for the school’s global warming project that compares solar energy generation under different types and different percentages of cloud cover. Riverstone’s environmental education committee works to enhance the school’s offerings on an ongoing basis.