Late last year EcoGeneration covered Pittwater High School’s plan to cut itself off from the grid and switch to solar power. Seven months on, Pittwater High, a NSW government school in northern Sydney, has solar panels powering ten of its classrooms, its story has travelled to students in the United States and the campaign continues to work towards turning a community to cleaner power and a more sustainable future.

According to the National Solar Schools website solarschools.net, over 120 schools in New South Wales have solar systems installed. However Pittwater High is planning to make itself completely energy selfsufficient. The school has calculated that if it was totally reliant on renewable energy it would save 775 kilograms of CO2 emissions each week or 275 tonnes per year.

Pittwater High officially opened the solar school in March this year. The opening saw Federal Member for Pittwater Rob Stokes, local council representatives, teachers, students and parents turn out to show their support for the project.

Pittwater High parent and campaigner Bill Holland explains that so far the switch to solar has been very successful. With 72 panels installed at a total cost of $85,000 and supplying 10.56 kilowatts (kW), Mr Holland says that it is great to at last be headed in the right direction.

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“We’re currently producing enough energy to power about ten classrooms continuously while the sun shines,” he says, adding that it will be interesting to get the school’s first energy bill since making the switch.

However Pittwater High still has a long way to go. The aim is to install a 165 kW system made up of 1,000 solar panels, become energy self-sufficient and feed power back into the grid for over 160 days a year, including 40 days of peak solar time over the summer holidays.

Pittwater High representatives say the motivation behind the project is to demonstrate to all Australians that they can begin the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources today. Put simply, the message is that if this school can reduce its carbon footprint and become renewable energy self-sufficient then so can any other school or hospital, factory, building, shopping centre or any carbonsourced power user.

Pittwater High’s project has had a real impact on the local community and Mr Holland says that it has encouraged greater energy efficiency within the school.

He explains that teachers and students alike are now more conscious of lights and computers being left on and that the project has also encouraged energy efficiency within the community. He adds that this awareness saw Westpac donate a solar panel to the school and that the local Pittwater Council has recently launched its 2020 vision in which it commits to being carbon neutral.

“Socially it’s made so many people in the area aware of the need to reduce our footprint on the environment. All the time people tell me they’ve heard about it or express interest in getting panels themselves,” he says.

News of the school’s project has even spread to the United States where it was screened on NBC News. A short feature will also soon be screened to approximately six million United States school children.

While the project has progressed well and received considerable support from the local community, Mr Holland says there have been challenges along the way. Mr Holland explains that the school’s program to switch on solar power in Pittwater homes has been setback by the changes to the Federal Government’s rebate, with a program supported by two solar companies to switch 30,000 Pittwater homes to solar power now out of reach for many residents.

Despite the obstacles, Pittwater High is continuing to make the switch to solar power. With a plan to install 200 to 250 panels each year, Pittwater High’s solar project is continuing to demonstrate that with some support, clean solar energy can power Australia forward.