Campaign calls for solar schools in Durham and Charlotte

Photo: video screen capture/Repower Our Schools

North Carolina charity NC Greenpower is already testing a program to raise money for solar schools. Now a new campaign backed by 30 environment and education groups is aiming to give clean energy and education a helping hand. Specifically, Repower Our Schools—which is supported by groups including Greenpeace, the Charlotte branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), Medical Advocates for Healthy Air (MAHA) and others—is calling on Durham Public Schools and Charlotte-Mecklenburg to pass resolutions that call for 100% renewable energy for their school systems.

Not only do campaigners argue that this will reduce air pollution, improve the environment and promote kids’ health, but it will also provide valuable teaching opportunities on the energy technologies of the future. But the campaign isn’t just relying on the educational and environmental case, they also suggest that this is a fiscally responsible move too. In fact, with solar prices dropping fast, a 2014 report from The Solar Foundation indicated that school districts across the country could each save more than $1 million over 30 years by installing a solar system.

Durham Public Schools Teacher Dov Rosenberg is backing the campaign:

“The Repower Our Schools campaign is important to me because the money we could save on electricity by switching to solar power would go right back to our students – where it belongs. Additionally, this provides a great opportunity to teach our students about the science behind energy production, the pollution caused by coal-burning power plants, including ash spills, and that they have the power to alter the course of our energy economy to a more sustainable future,”

Meanwhile, the kids seem pretty into it too: