San Marcos Unified is moving forward with an exciting district-wide project to install solar panels at many of our school sites. Tesla (formerly SolarCity) will install, maintain, and operate their solar panel system without any upfront costs to the District. Savings from this initiative will amount to approximately $30 million dollars over our 20-year contract with Tesla.
For an overview on our solar project, please watch this short video.
Each phase of construction is completed in stages of prep work, fencing, drilling, completing the underground electrical, and installation. Starting with Paloma Elementary on October 14, 2017, the prep team will begin working on site. Once the prep work is completed at Paloma, they will move on to the next school in Phase 1, while the drilling team will begin work at Paloma – and so on and so forth. This process will continue until all of the schools in Phase 1 are completed. For visuals on this process, click here.
The phases are as follows:
- PHASE 1: Paloma Elementary, San Elijo Elementary, Woodland Park Middle, and Mission Hills High.
- PHASE 2: Twin Oaks Elementary, Joli Ann Elementary, San Marcos Elementary, and Knob Hill Elementary
- PHASE 3: Discovery Elementary, San Elijo Middle, Double Peak, San Marcos High, and Carrillo Elementary
In addition to working with the Division of State Architects (DSA) to ensure that all applicable rules/regulations are followed, our Facilities and Maintenance team have worked closely with each of our principals to determine the ideal location for the panels. As many of our sites will have solar panels installed in their parking lot, parking will be affected during the 6-12 week construction period. Families will receive a letter from their site prior to any work commencing. You can also check your school’s website for more information on construction dates and parking/drop off adjustments.
For questions or concerns regarding this project, please email [email protected].
