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Anaheim Public Utilities customers support sun power for schools

Anaheim School District Board President Dr. Don Garcia (left) and District Superintendent Sandra Barry accept a $300,000 check from Mayor Curt Pringle and Utilities Interim General Manager Ken Noller (far right). The money from APU’s Sun Power for the Schools program funded the installation of solar lunch shelters at two elementary schools. (Photo by Anaheim Public Utilities.)

Adding more renewable energy to a utility’s portfolio is as much a marketing challenge as a technology challenge, one that Anaheim Public Utilities has tackled by giving customers a choice of green products.

In the more conventional “Green Power for the Grid” program, residents of California’s tenth largest city pay a small monthly premium for a 100-kWh block generated from renewable resources. Those who like to see what they are buying can support “Sun Power for the Schools.”

“We wanted customers to have an option that gave them tangible results,” said Sun Power Program Manager Deana Presidik. “And it gave us more scope to engage ratepayers in renewable energy production.”

Anaheim Public Utilities launched Sun Power for the Schools simultaneously with Green Power for the Grid in 2002. Subscribers’ voluntary monthly contributions help to pay for installing and maintaining photovoltaic systems at Anaheim schools.

Participating schools are selected on a first-come, first-served basis and on the school's ability to contribute 20 percent of the solar system cost. Anaheim Public Utilities funds 20 percent of the project cost, and customer contributions raise the remaining 60 percent. Each school is responsible for the design, purchase and installation of it's solar system.

Solar projects meet variety of needs
The program recently completed its third project, construction of solar lunch shelters at two elementary schools. The PV arrays at Clara Barton Elementary School and Melbourne Gauer Elementary School generate more than 8 kW and provide students with a comfortable gathering space. The value-added function is as important as the small amount of electricity they produce, noted Presidik. “The projects have to make sense on more than one level,” she explained.

In addition to upgrading the facilities and supplying energy during the schools’ peak use, the shelters also add a renewable energy component to science education. “We offer an education program to help teachers bring solar energy into the classroom,” Presidik said.

The education aspect of Sun Power for Schools took a front seat when Esperanza High School used the funding to install a tiny 1.125-kW solar system. The communication conduit from the inverter was hooked directly to the school’s engineering lab, allowing students to study the equipment and collect data. “The program doesn’t require schools to add an educational component, but Esperanza really ran with it,” Presidik recalled.

Communication builds support, generation
Promotion for both green power offerings is relatively low-key, relying on bill stuffers, newsletters, public service announcements and Web site information. The utility is launching a solar newsletter this year to let all its green power subscribers know about the projects their contributions are funding. The newsletter will also target potential project participants.

Word of mouth plays an important part in taking the mystery out of solar energy, added Presidik. “Any time there is a public event, our staff will be there talking about our programs, signing up customers and passing out little incentives,” she said.

Anaheim Public Utilities presents workshops to residential customers interested in home installations and to business accounts on rebates for renewable energy and efficiency. Lunch-and-learn sessions keep utility staff informed about the latest program offerings. “And I’m promoting and presenting educators’ workshops to schools whenever I can,” Presidik said.

Renewable energy marketing efforts have paid off with 717 green power subscribers. The majority, 702, are residential, with 43 percent contributing to the grid program, 20 percent to the school program and 34 percent supporting both.

Subscribers, however, are only the means to the end—increasing the use of renewable energy—and Anaheim Public Utilities is proud of its progress toward that goal. “Our aggregate numbers are really good,” Presidik pointed out. “The city has installed or funded 322 kW of solar power.”

Along with clean, renewable energy, those solar arrays generate a marketing message: that lower emissions and a secure energy supply are available to all Anaheim Public Utilities customers, now in two convenient packages.