Marin Country Day School (MCDS) was incorporated in 1956. Although small when it first opened its doors, it had big dreams of helping children become excellent learners and high-quality people working towards a better world. Today there are 540 students enrolled from grades K–8 filling 34 classrooms and additional buildings such as a library, music building, computer laboratory, gymnasium, multipurpose room, performing arts auditorium, and more.

Challenges

With so many structures, students, staff and faculty, MCDS’s energy bills were high so they raised enough funds to purchase the solar system outright, while taking advantage of higher CA Solar Initiative (CSI) rebates for non–profit organizations. The solar system installed by Borrego Solar will eliminate 60% of the school’s electricity bills allowing for more funds to be spent on the school’s central values: instilling a “culture of possibility” and a conviction that learning is a lifelong and joyous proposition.

About the Installation

The MCDS installation is unique in that two different modules, inverters, and racking equipment were used to create the 112kW system. To maximize total system output the system was installed on the roofs of the gym, administration building and two classroom buildings, each with a different type of roof material. On the gym and administration building’s composite shingle roofs, Sharp modules with a flush mount racking system were utilized while on the flat roofs of the classroom buildings tilted arrays using BP modules and Unirac’s SunFrame racking were used. This provided for maximum efficiency on the flat roof space while maintaining a sleek installation that matched the aesthetic of the school’s master design.

Although the system was spread across four different buildings, the electricity generated was fed to the school’s single master meter. To accomplish this Borrego Solar had to work closely with the school’s architect and electrician to route the conductors in an efficient manner to the point of interconnection. Borrego solar also installed a web enabled data monitoring system that broadcasts real time solar production data over the internet and will provide clear visibility into system performance. By utilizing the Borrego Solar Curriculum, the students at MCDS will also have an additional benefit of integrating the live PV system data into their lesson plans.

Financial Savings

The Photovoltaic system at Marin Country Day School will produce 13,300kWh of electricity each month, enough to power 14 single family homes. MCDS bought the system outright and to help pay for the system MCDS took advantage of the California Solar Initiative Estimated Performance Based Buy–down for non–profit organizations which immediately saved them $240,000! Borrego Solar submitted all of the paperwork and filed the rebate application before being selected to do the project to make sure that MCDS locked in the incentive before the rebate dropped. The annual savings from the system are expected to increase as the electric rates increase; it is expected that over 30 years, Marin Country Day School will realize a savings of over $2 Million!