NewsIllinois school district cuts electric bills with new rooftop solar
Cary school district just flipped the switch on big rooftop solar panels. Three buildings now generate 55% of their own power every year. Allied Facility Partners built the system using energy savings to pay for the work. Your commercial electric bills might have similar ways to save.
Check your electric bill this month. Cary Community Consolidated School District 26 just completed a major rooftop solar project across three of its buildings in Illinois. Allied Facility Partners, a design-build firm serving public organizations across Illinois and Wisconsin, handled the entire installation. The setup features 1,429 solar modules and 7 inverters spread across the properties, including Oak Knoll Early Childhood Center. The combined system has a capacity of 843 kW and is expected to generate 990,654 kWh annually. That output covers about 55% of the electricity those facilities consume. The district used a Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract, meaning projected energy savings help support the investment over time rather than hitting taxpayers with a massive upfront bill all at once. David Martin, Operations Coordinator for Cary School District 26, said, "This project represents a significant long-term investment in the future of Cary School District 26." Allied also coordinated utility incentive programs and renewable energy credit applications to maximize the financial return. A public-facing energy dashboard now tracks real-time production so students and staff can watch the panels work. For your business, looking into performance contracting or utility solar incentives could trim heavy monthly overhead costs. That leaves more cash in your account for payroll and inventory instead of utility companies.