Sonoji Sakai Intermediate

Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School was built in 1999 and has won awards for its “green” design. The lights turn off automatically, the school has bioswales that protect the salmon stream behind it and it is built on registered backyard wildlife habitat.

As a Renewable School, Sonoji Sakai Intermediate school in Bainbridge Island, Washington is building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, generating clean energy through their 5.1-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system, and leveraging the system's performance data as an educational tool to bring energy topics to life in their classrooms. This Renewable School project is a unique partnership between the Bainbridge Island School District and a number of other public and private entities. Community Energy Solutions, a local nonprofit organization, raised the funds to expand the original 1.1-kilowatt system provided by Solar 4R Schools to a 5.1-kilowatts in 2009.

In 2008, 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 to the school connected the 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. A touchscreen kiosk placed within the facility allows visitors to interact with the system's live performance data while learning about the science and benefits of renewable energy.