A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), The Solar Foundation and Generation 180 showcases the major growth of PV in K-12 schools in the United States.
According to the report, PV capacity in US schools have nearly doubled since 2014, with 5,489 K-12 schools now powered by solar, totaling nearly 1GW of electric generation capacity.
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If all of the solar installations at US K-12 schools were combined, it represents a total generation capacity of 910MW — representing an 86% increase over 2014.
The costs of solar school projects have plummeted in the US, dropping 67% in the last decade and 19% from 2016, alone. These dropping costs have led to a installing boom — allowing four million students to benefit from solar while attending school.
Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO, said: “There’s a reason solar is spreading so quickly across America’s school districts, and it’s pretty simple — when schools go solar, the entire community benefits.”
While California schools are leading the way for solar adoption with nearly 2,000 schools making the jump to PV power — the change has also taken effect in other states such as New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts and New York.