Bridgeport Independent School District (ISD) is a public school district in Bridgeport, TX. Bridgeport ISD has 4 campuses that serve the cities of Bridgeport, Lake Bridgeport, and Runaway Bay. In 2010 Bridgeport ISD pursued a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) to fund the installation of a large solar array at the district’s high school. In 2011 a 170 kW rooftop solar array was installed on a brand new energy efficient roof at Bridgeport High School. The installation of the array came on the tail of bond funded construction to update to energy efficient features, such as the roof, at the high school and intermediate school campuses.
Benefits of Solar Energy
Bridgeport ISD’s adoption of solar energy created increased savings on annual utility bills, as well as provided educational opportunities within the district. At the time of receiving the grant, Bridgeport ISD was suffering from a budget shortfall which was going to affect them for the following two years. The district saw investing in energy efficiency as the only capital investment option because of the certainty of money savings. Additionally, Bridgeport ISD was able to partner with the local electric co-op, Wise County Electric Cooperative, to have a cooperative agreement for interconnection and parallel operation of distributed energy. That is, if the school’s solar array ever produces more energy than it uses Wise County Electric Cooperative will buy it back generating extra revenue for the school district. Beyond the importance of cost savings to the district, the solar installation was developed as an educational component for the district’s students. To encourage interaction with the solar installation, Axium, the solar installer, incorporated a kiosk in the school library where faculty, parents, and students can go to look at current and historical energy production data.
Funding
Bridgeport ISD applied for a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) to help fund the solar installation. In 2010, the district began the application process and requested the maximum of $1 million dollars financial assistance. In 2011, Bridgeport ISD was awarded $900,000 dollars at a 20% match for the development of Bridgeport High School’s solar installation. Since Bridgeport ISD was already financing energy efficient upgrades at the high school, SECO allowed them to count the money already spent for energy efficient upgrades as the $180,000 share. For more information about energy efficiency program grants offered by SECO, please visit: http://seco.cpa.state.tx.us/energy-efficiency/.
