Solar schools

[The following letter was sent to Claremont Unified School District Board President  David Nemer, with a copy forwarded to the COURIER for publication. —KD]

Dear Editor:

As a Claremont resident and CUSD parent, I read with dismay the June 9 article in the Claremont COURIER stating that the Claremont Unified School District has completed solar installations at all 11 campuses.

While the district says it anticipates a 25-year savings of $6 million, I suspect that even under the current Edison tariff rates these projects will actually cost the district in each of these 25 years, and that they have been money-losers since the first panels came online.

What’s worse is that in response to the glut of solar power on the California grid—Google “duck curve”—the three California investor-owned utilities have asked the California Public Utilities Commission to change their time-of-use rate structures. If approved, the proposed structures are expected to negatively impact the value proposition of on-site solar, such as the projects the CUSD just finished installing.

I fear that higher electrical utility costs to the district will result in budget cuts that will negatively impact the educational experiences of CUSD students. I am also concerned about the impacts budget cuts would have on CUSD parents and employees.

I respectfully request that the district provide the relevant information on these projects so that the financial impact of the projects can be calculated. I also request the district’s advice on the most appropriate forum where CUSD stakeholders can discuss how to address the costs and/or benefits of these projects.

John Marler

Claremont