Sauk Prairie School District starts thinking about roof mounted solar

The Sauk Prairie School Board gave tacit approval to Superintendent Jeff Wright to seek bids for a solar project to be installed on the roofs of district buildings. Wright was backed by a group of interested Sauk Prairie residents who fully support (and at times own their own) solar power installations. The group gave a presentation and have been slowly building support for the district to build a roof mounted solar array. The group, called “Sauk Prairie Solar Schools,” lists their purpose as: “to assist our school district to transition from reliance on fossil fuel toward use of renewable energy.” Their initial proposal is twofold: a 150 kW installation on the high school/River Arts center, and a 200 kW installation on Bridges.  The group’s plan is motivate businesses and individuals to donate to the district’s solar power fund, as well as promoting solar energy. The group seeks to lessen or eliminate the district’s reliance on fossil fuels. As always, funding was a concern, and the group listed several grant opportunities, including funds made available from the Inflation Reduction Act. Ultimately, the prediction is that the full solar installation listed above would reduce the district’s grid-based electrical use by 50 percent.  In August the request for bids would officially go out, and in September the board could be potentially choosing a contractor for the project.