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.