School solar sites lucrative

September 30, 2020

Children play Monday near a solar farm at Middlesex Elementary School in Locust Hill. There is a similar farm at Middlesex High School in Saluda. The farms will generate electricity at a cost savings to the schools and in addition will generate $120,200 to the school system. (Photo by Larry Chowning)

Middlesex schools get windfall from selling energy certificates to Sun Tribe Solar

by Larry Chowning –

The Middlesex County Public School (MCPS) system’s pioneer efforts in establishing solar energy at all three county school facilities are paying off.

At the Middlesex County School Board meeting on Sept. 14, the board voted unanimously to sell its “Solar Renewable Energy Certificates” (SREC) to Sun Tribe Solar.

The windfall from the sale will amount to $120,200 over a five-year period. Sun Tribe Solar will purchase 15 years of SREC production to be paid out evenly over five years on a quarterly basis. It will amount to $24,040 annually for the five years.

Taylor Brown, co-founder of Sun Tribe Solar, explained SREC to the board. “When electricity is generated, that energy gets added to the grid, which is how it makes its way to you, the user. Once on the grid, there is no way of differentiating the electricity made from renewables (like wind and solar) from energy that comes from other sources…