Five Montana Schools Chosen for Solar Electric Demonstration Project

NorthWestern Energy http://www.northwesternenergy.com/ and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) http://www.ncat.org have announced the addition of five area schools to the Sun4Schools project roster. Sun4Schools is a demonstration and education project that allows schools to generate some of their own electricity from the sun. Twenty-seven schools are now participating.

The schools selected to participate in 2003 are:

o Augusta Public School

o Duvall Junior High, Deer Lodge

o Roundup High School

o Sheridan High School

o Willow Creek School

NCAT will install grid-connected solar electric systems, also known as photovoltaic (PV) systems, at no cost on the rooftops of participating schools later this summer. Each system will be capable of generating two kilowatts of electricity and will provide a portion of the school’s electricity needs. Any excess electricity produced by the system will be fed into the utility grid through a net metering agreement to serve other NorthWestern Energy electric customers.

The project extends beyond the practical. Students can learn about the benefits of solar energy through a special curriculum that has been developed by NCAT to correspond with the Sun4Schools project. Participating schools are able to monitor their system’s performance on the Internet on a weekly basis.

Sun4Schools is administered by the National Center for Appropriate Technology and is funded by NorthWestern Energy’s Universal Systems Benefits charge paid by the company’s electric customers.