BEF - Solar 4R Schools

Summary

Bonneville Environmental Foundation's (BEF) Solar 4R Schools program began in 2002. The program seeks to install small-scale solar systems at schools interested in increasing the visibility of renewable energy. Successful projects will include outreach and educational components to encourage adoption and use of photovoltaics. The school agrees to: own and maintain the solar system, provide access to a network in order to transfer solar data and offer and implement an educational and/or public outreach strategy. BEF donates the photovoltaic system and monitoring equipment, performs all installations with help from school staff, and provides a renewable energy curriculum framework to the school. Once the systems are running, the students are able to access photovoltaic monitoring data on school computers as they learn about renewable energy. The data can also be displayed over the school or district website so that the general public can see it. BEF has developed 3 curriculum modules that incorporate live system data into lesson plans for use at various levels. Elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools are all eligible under this program. BEF will generally completely fund or supply 1.1 kW system installations and fund up to 33% of other larger renewable energy projects. Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis. See the BEF program website above for more details on funding and the application process.