Marin Country Day School  Corte Madera, CA

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 individuals 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.

With so many structures, students, staff, and faculty, MCDS' energy bills were high so they chose to raise enough funds to purchase the solar system outright, while taking advantage of higher California 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.

The MCDS installation is unique in that two different sets of modules, inverters, and racking systems were used to create the 112kW system. To maximize total system output the project 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 buildings’ 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 worked 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 providing clear visibility into the system’s performance. By utilizing the Borrego Solar Curriculum, the students at MCDS will have the additional benefit of integrating the live PV system data into their lesson plans.

The Photovoltaic system at MCDS 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 installation MCDS took advantage of the California Solar Initiative’s Estimated Performance Based Buy-Down (EPBB) for non-profit organizations, which immediately saved them $240,000. Borrego Solar submitted all of the paperwork and filed the rebate applications before being selected to do the project in order to make sure MCDS locked in the incentive before the rebate dropped to the next level. The annual savings from the system are expected to increase as electricity rates rise, and it’s expected that over 30 years, MCDS will realize a savings of more than $2 Million.