January 22, 2007—Honeywell recently announced that the Pleasanton Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area has awarded the company a solar energy project, one of the first of its kind for a K-12 school district in California.
Under the agreement, Honeywell will install, own, and maintain solar panels on seven district buildings and sell the electricity the panels produce to the district at a price significantly below its current utility rate. The Pleasanton Unified School District serves 14,600 students.
The solar technology is expected to supply 20 percent of the district’s electricity and save it an estimated $2.5 million in energy costs over the course of the 20-year contract. After the agreement expires, the school district can continue purchasing electricity from Honeywell, acquire ownership of the solar panels, or explore other energy providers. This is one of the first projects in California where the contractor operates as the utility for a K-12 school district, says the company.
In addition to the environmental and financial benefits, the district is working with Honeywell and the National Energy Education Development (NEED) – a non-profit organization that promotes energy awareness and education in schoolsto create a curriculum that teaches students about the district’s solar panels and other energy-saving measures.
Honeywell Building Solutions expects to install the solar panels and begin providing the district with electricity by October 2007.
For more information visit the Honeywell Web site.
