Shakopee HIgh School construction students install the racking system for the solar panels
Global Citizenship student, Mark Houser, partners with local school to provide green energy
Houser learned from Brian Christian, Industrial Technology and Construction teacher at Shakopee
High School, that, as part of an ongoing environmental learning center construction project, Shakopee Public Utilities had donated solar panels for the outdoor environmental and ecology classroom (http://www.rschooltoday.com/school386/FCK/File/Academics/EnvironmentalLearningCenter/Building2010.pdf).
Houser, a licensed electrician, volunteered to install the solar panels, which would provide an energy source that could generate electricity for the building. As part of Houser’s service learning project, he worked with the high school students and some licensed electricians to install the solar panel racking on the roof, install the modules, make electrical roof connections, and wire the electrical inverter.
- Mark Houser works on wiring the solar electricity inverter
These solar panels or photovoltaic (PV) systems use wafers, typically made of crystalline silicone, that are sensitive to sunlight and produce a small amount of direct current when exposed to light (Dunlop, James P., Photovoltaic Systems, p. 26.) This would make it easier for teachers to
hold classes outdoors, especially in the winter.
“Mark showed great patience and knowledge while working with the students. He has been a great asset to our class and our students. He put in numerous hours working on the green building with our students, both on the electrical side inside the building as well as installing the 24 solar panels on the outside,” said Brian Christian.
Houser is proud to be part of the solution to generate energy for the outdoor environmental building, and to help kids learn about the environment, year round. “It’s fun to do something and not get paid for it. The reward was something other than money, and I like that,” said Mark.
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The biggest problem facing solar energy is the cost. It is still way too expensive and takes several years just to re-gain your upfront costs. Panels also takes up a ton of space.
Costs ARE coming down as the technology improves, just like everything else. A return on investment of only “several” years passes any capital investment cost benefit analysis I’ve ever seen.
This is an excellent learning project for the students who will see this technology in the real world.
Kudos!
Thanks for the feedback.
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