What are the environmental and financial benefits of solar power at Palmerston College?

The installation of solar panels in the school has created a buzz among the students who are enthusiastic about the environmental savings. The canteen has also switched to eco-friendly containers and straws to reduce the use of plastics. The science teachers are interested in monitoring the consumption and power generated by the solar panels, which could become part of the curriculum in the future. The school hopes to save approximately $40,000 annually, which can be used to improve student outcomes, such as upgrading the gym floor, ICT facilities and refurbishing computers.

Definitely a nice feeling comes with this generating the power saving on the planet. The students here are all for that environmental savings, right down to the fact that, you know, we try not to use too many plastics, and our canteen has just changed over as well and using all the environmental friendly containers and straws, and the students pick up on that straightaway. They know then that there's no tortoises that are going to be killed out in the sea and things like that. So it is a bit of a buzz for people to actually know that we're helping the environment. In fact, I've had the science teacher come in and ask me Are they operating? Can I have a password to check the consumption and the power that we're actually using in the power that the solar panels are generating?. So that will then of course, be passed on to the student, so probably become part of the curriculum for the science teachers in the future, monitoring it. And I mean, that's something I want to have a look at as well is to keep an eye on it and know that well they're actually working and producing the savings goals.

I just really, it's for me, it's all about wanting to know the savings and use them elsewhere. And then that will help me plan for the future years. I can't wait to sort of see the end of the year to see what we have actually saved. With the savings that we're hoping to achieve over the year, which would be approximately around $40,000. This is where we can put that money elsewhere within the school to help student outcomes and that would be whether it's just upgrading the floor in the gym, right to the ICT, where we always require more laptop students, refurbishing of current desktop computers. There's just so much other areas that I can see this money will be helpful. It is stressful working with budgets and knowing that this savings is going to be made, I will be able to allocate that money in so many other areas within the budget.