Indian Prairie School District 204 may pursue new solar panels atop two more of its buildings to create electricity and lower energy costs.
The district is already installing solar panels at five schools, including Brooks, Gombert, Georgetown, McCarty and Steck elementaries, where permits are expected to be issued and work to begin soon, said Becky Thompson with Nania Energy Advisors, the district’s energy consultant, at Monday’s school board meeting.
Now two more schools — the Birkett Center building near Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville and White Eagle Elementary in Aurora — are being considered.
“Having long-term energy reduction on site will pay dividends for years to come,” Thompson said.
Recommended solar sites: Birkett Center, White Eagle Elementary
The cost-benefit analysis for solar panels at Birkett and White Eagle varies because electricity for each school comes from different utilities — the Naperville Electric Utility for Birkett and ComEd for White Eagle. More energy-related charges for solar panels can be offset under ComEd’s policies than Naperville’s, Thompson said.
The Birkett project is estimated to generate a return on investment in slightly less than seven years. It would cost roughly $1.5 million to install, and its energy production would offset 52% of the electricity used at the facility, eventually saving roughly $996,000 over 25 years, according to Thompson.
Meanwhile, solar panels at White Eagle would cost roughly $544,000, would offset 86% of the school’s electric use and would pay for themselves in less than five years, her estimates show. Over the lifespan of the panels, the expected savings would be $705,000.
Yet administrators said both projects are worth pursuing because of the upcoming expiration of a federal solar incentive program at the end of 2027.
“That’s why there’s a little urgency to complete these projects,” Thompson said.
Federal and state incentives currently can add up to between 30% and 50% of the total cost of a solar panel installation, Thompson said, with offerings that have “never been better.” Yet, when the federal program concludes, the future of solar funding “is widely unknown,” she said.
So, while capital funding is available for general infrastructure and energy efficiency projects through the district’s Safer, Stronger 204 referendum, Thompson said she recommends the district pursue these two solar projects within roughly the next year.
Rooftop age, conditions critical for solar site selection
School board members asked why Birkett and White Eagle have been identified as the best sites for potential solar panels, and officials said it comes down factors including the age and condition of the roof.
“We never want to put solar on a rooftop that needs to be replaced in 5 to 10 years because it becomes cost-prohibitive to take the solar panels down, store them and then put them back up,” Thompson said.
Variability among roof heights also factors in and weighs against the feasibility of solar installation at some of the district’s largest facilities.
“Some of our high school buildings are not the best fit for solar,” said Matt Shipley, chief school business official. Take, for example, he said, a building like Waubonsie Valley High School, which has two separate — and disconnected — third floors. “It’s actually our middle and elementary schools that are a better fit.”
Naperville utility ‘very cooperative’ for potential solar installation
While incentive funding and future cost offsets are not as lucrative under the Naperville Electric Utility, Thompson said the district and its energy consultant have met with the city about the potential Birkett project, to positive results.
“The city of Naperville is very motivated and very cooperative for this project,” Thompson said, even offering a $15,000 one-time incentive to encourage the installation.
School board members asked how the costs could change as the city considers the future of its electric supply, and whether it will stay with current provider Illinois Municipal Electric Agency past the end of its contract in 2035.
Thompson said any project pursued while federal funding is ensured through the end of 2027 would be unaffected by decisions about the future supply source for the Naperville Electric Utility.
If the school board decides to move forward with solar panels at Birkett and White Eagle, the next steps would be drawing up design documents and contracting out the work.
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