Oct. 25, 2013 - On October 15, 2013, the school board of the Lucia Mar Unified School District (San Luis Obispo County, CA) awarded Chevron Energy Solutions a contract to design and develop an innovative program which will include solar energy systems, energy efficiency measures and improved lighting components that are estimated to save the district over $40 million, or about $20 million after paying all program costs over the 30-year project life.
The project will include 1.7MW of solar generation capacity at 7 district sites, upgraded HVAC systems, irrigation controls and energy-saving LED lighting. In total, the project is expected to reduce the district's utility-purchased electricity costs by approximately 75 percent.
"We've been facing increasing energy costs, which led us to look carefully at our energy efficiency as well as the potential to produce our own energy with solar," said Jim Hogeboom, Lucia Mar Superintendent. "We believe this project will allow us to fulfill three critical goals – financial, environmental and educational."
"We are proud to have been selected to work with the Lucia Mar Unified School District on this project," said Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions, "because it demonstrates both far-sighted vision and fiscal responsibility, improving the learning environment for students and saving significant financial resources."
It is expected that construction work on the project will commence in January 2014.