COCOA, Apr. 27, 2010 – Ninety public schools in Florida have been competitively selected to participate in the SunSmart Schools E-Shelter (Emergency Shelter) program, administered by the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). Each school will receive a solar electric system with battery backup – complete with installation, educational resources and materials, training for school personnel, and professional development for teachers.
The 10-kilowatt solar electric system will provide power to the shelter during outages for critical energy needs such as lighting, communications and essential medical equipment. During normal operations, it will offset electricity costs to the school and reduce greenhouse gases. Funding for the $10 million state program came from federal economic stimulus funds.
The 90 finalist schools (listed below) were selected from the 213 applications submitted, representing 45 of the 67 counties in Florida.
“Ideally, we wanted to have each county in Florida represented, but we’re pleased to have shelters spread throughout the state, with at least one shelter in each of the counties that applied,” said Susan Schleith, project manager of the SunSmart E-Shelter program.
Schools were ranked based on demographics, emergency shelter needs, partnerships, and renewable energy education and outreach plans. Twenty alternate schools were also selected. Final acceptance into the program is dependent on a successful visit to the school by the FSEC engineering and emergency management teams to determine site suitability. In the event any of the finalists are deemed not suitable for installation, or if additional funding is obtained, alternate schools will move to finalist status.
The next stage of the process is to determine who will install the solar systems. The University of Central Florida will select the contractors through a formal bid process, expected to begin in the next few weeks. Contractor selection is expected to be completed by mid-June.
For more information about the program, visit www.fsec.ucf.edu/go/sunsmart.
| Site Name (In Order by County) | City | County |
| University of Florida | Gainesville | Alachua |
| A. Crawford Mosley High School | Lynn Haven | Bay |
| Jinks Middle School | Panama City | Bay |
| Starke Elementary School | Starke | Bradford |
| Endeavour Elementary Magnet School | Cocoa | Brevard |
| Bayside High School | Palm Bay | Brevard |
| Apollo Elementary | Titusville | Brevard |
| Everglades High School | Miramar | Broward |
| Kingsway Elementary School | Port Charlotte | Charlotte |
| Pinecrest Elementary School | Immokalee | Collier |
| Eden Park Elementary School | Immokalee | Collier |
| DeSoto Middle School | Arcadia | DeSoto |
| Abess Park Elementary School | Jacksonville | Duval |
| Arlington Middle School | Jacksonville | Duval |
| LaVilla School of the Arts | Jacksonville | Duval |
| Bellview Elementary | Pensacola | Escambia |
| Lipscomb Elementary | Pensacola | Escambia |
| East Gadsden High School | Havana | Gadsden |
| Havana Middle School | Havana | Gadsden |
| Trenton Elementary School | Trenton | Gilcrest |
| Hernando High School | Brooksville | Hernando |
| Explorer K-8 | Spring Hill | Hernando |
| Avon Elementary School | Avon Park | Highlands |
| Fred Wild Elementary School | Sebring | Highlands |
| Young Middle Magnet School | Tampa | Hillsborough |
| Durant High School | Plant City | Hillsborough |
| Knights Elementary | Plant City | Hillsborough |
| Oslo Middle School | Vero Beach | Indian River |
| Sebastian River High School | Sebastian | Indian River |
| Jefferson County Middle High School | Monticello | Jefferson |
| Lafayette High School | Mayo | Lafayette |
| Carver Middle School | Leesburg | Lake |
| Fruitland Park Elementary School | Fruitland Park | Lake |
| Island Coast High School | Cape Coral | Lee |
| Veteran’s Park Academy for the Arts | Lehigh Acres | Lee |
| Oak Hammock Middle | Fort Myers | Lee |
| Deerlake Middle School | Tallahassee | Leon |
| W. R. Tolar K-8 | Bristol | Liberty |
| Madison County Central School | Madison | Madison |
| Bayshore Elementary School | Bradenton | Manatee |
| Braden River High School | Bradenton | Manatee |
| Robert H. Prine Elementary School | Bradenton | Manatee |
| Vanguard High School | Ocala | Marion |
| Dunnellon High School | Dunnellon | Marion |
| West Port High School | Ocala | Marion |
| Port Salerno elementary | Stuart | Martin |
| Warfield Elementary | Indiantown | Martin |
| South Dade Senior High School | Homestead | Miami-Dade |
| North Miami Senior High School | Miami | Miami-Dade |
| South Miami Senior | Miami | Miami-Dade |
| Key West High School | Key West | Monroe |
| Yulee High School | Yulee | Nassau |
| Yulee Middle School | Yulee | Nassau |
| Baker School | Baker | Okaloosa |
| Antioch Elementary School | Crestview | Okaloosa |
| Memorial Middle School | Orlando | Orange |
| Westridge Middle School | Orlando | Orange |
| East River High School | Orlando | Orange |
| Ventura Elementary School | Kissimmee | Osceola |
| Discovery Intermediate School | Kissimmee | Osceola |
| Poinciana Elementary School | Poinciana | Osceola |
| Atlantic Community High School | Delray Beach | Palm Beach |
| West Gate Elementary School | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach |
| Palm Beach Gardens High | Palm Beach Gardens | Palm Beach |
| James W. Mitchell High | Trinity | Pasco |
| River Ridge Middle High School | New Port Richey | Pasco |
| Wesley Chapel High School | Wesley Chapel | Pasco |
| John M. Sexton Elementary School | Saint Petersburg | Pinellas |
| Fairmount Park Elementary | St. Petersburg | Pinellas |
| Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Elementary | St. Petersburg | Pinellas |
| Palmetto Elementary School | Poinciana | Polk |
| Dr. NE Roberts Elementary | Lakeland | Polk |
| Haines City Senior | Haines City | Polk |
| Avalon Middle School | Milton | Santa Rosa |
| Russell Elementary | Milton | Santa Rosa |
| PineView School | Osprey | Sarasota |
| Atwater Elementary School | North Port | Sarasota |
| Lyman High School | Longwood | Seminole |
| Geneva Elementary | Geneva | Seminole |
| C.A. Moore Elementary School | Ft. Pierce | St. Lucie |
| Bayshore Elementary School | Port St. Lucie | St. Lucie |
| Taylor County Elementary School | Perry | Taylor |
| Champion Elementary | Daytona Beach | Volusia |
| DeLand High School | Deland | Volusia |
| Pine Ridge High School | Deltona | Volusia |
| Riversink Elementary | Crawfordville | Wakulla |
| Crawfordville Elementary School | Crawfordville | Wakulla |
| Freeport High School | Freeport | Walton |
| Vernon High School | Vernon | Washington |
| Chipley High School | Chipley | Washington |
About FSEC
The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research institute in the nation. Current divisions and their research activities include Advanced Energy Research: alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and fuel cells; Buildings Research: energy-efficient buildings; and Solar Energy: solar water and pool heating and solar electric and distributed generation systems. For more information about the center, visit http://www.floridaenergycenter.org or call the FSEC Public Affairs Office at 321-638-1015.
UCF Stands For Opportunity
The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 3rd largest in the nation with more than 53,500 students. UCF’s first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region’s economic development. UCF’s culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu.
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PR10-05
It’s good that they are planning ahead to handle emergencies. The solar unit will be good most of the time but what about when it’s overcast? They should look into adding some battery backups or maybe a diesel generator or two.
The link for more information doesn’t work, I just get an error message. Did this project go ahead in the end or was it binned?
Katie.
These schools would really benefit a lot with the “solar program”. It’s just the right move to consider the kind of climate changes the world is dealing with at present. So what is the status now of all these schools?
It is really great to see funding going towards school to promote green energy. I feel like we should already be using solar power at a way higher capacity, but the more projects like this are funded and rolled out after being a success, the sooner we will be less dependent on fossil fuels.
The solar program is one great alternative for the utilization of fossil fuels. It is costly but come to think of it, it doesn’t harm the environment. Moreover, it hastens the progression of global warming.
@Joseph Johnson – – – You are right, I think “solar systems” need to be implemented immediately, not just in schools, but even in households they may be a bit expensive but they can help the world get better. With all things happening in the world right now, we badly need an alternative.
quoted “It’s good that they are planning ahead to handle emergencies. ”
this is exactly means being ready.
Greg of Brisbane
Visit Us Hypnosis
@ Heber – Am I right in saying that solar energy works even in overcast conditions? Even if that’s not the case. I guess being in Florida there’s a high proportion of direct sun anyway.
Nice list, the solar energy programs should have a greater success than the others. Its also cool to see that no education level groups are left out, from elementary to high school.
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards.
With the soaring rates of traditional electricity nowadays, solar power systems are highly recommended. It’s good news that the FSEC department of the University of Central Florida has started utilizing solar energy for emergencies, specifically in school shelters. This move should be replicated by other institutions as soon as possible.
Hello, this looks really interesting. Its good to see that more and more people are starting to use natural energy. Lets hope that this will also have the effect of making it a habit for the young students to save energy.
@Heber: It does say that each school will receive battery backup as part of the package.
It’s about time that solar energy programs be implemented in different schools. It’s a better option compared to the use of fossil fuels. It’s beneficial to the environment as well as to humans.
Solar energy gives hope to schools that can’t keep up with the electricity bills. Not only that it helps in promoting green living but helps students learn efficiently as well.
The Solar Energy Program should reach the entire country not just in a single state. The price of oil keeps on increasing like crazy so it’s just the right time to find other alternatives. If only oil companies don’t care about income that much but unfortunately they do.
Richard Barrick,
Manager: Flooring Contractor Tampa Bay