NC GreenPower Corporation

At its 10th anniversary in 2013, NC GreenPower began developing ideas that could make a broader impact on our communities. Following months of focus groups with teachers, educational professionals, sustainability groups and STEM-focused supporters, NC GreenPower launched its Solar+ Schools program. Selected schools are awarded grants to receive educational solar PV installations to enhance students’ knowledge of energy, renewable energy and their impacts on the environment. Each school receives a 5 kilowatt solar array, weather station, data monitoring equipment, a STEM curriculum, classroom kits and teacher training. These solar packages provide educators with valuable, interactive tools to teach students and create awareness about potential career options. NC GreenPower pays for the majority of each project, but selected schools must raise a portion of the construction costs.

Now in our eighth year, donors have helped NC GreenPower fund solar installations at 56 K-12 schools in 38 counties - reaching more than 43,000 students! Since 2003, NC GreenPower has been working hard to support more than 1,075 local renewable energy and carbon offset projects in nearly every county in North Carolina. Using donations, NC GreenPower is proud to have generated 1.06 million megawatt-hours of green power, which is the equivalent of providing more than 73,600 homes with electricity for a year. Carbon offset projects have mitigated approximately 106,700 tons of greenhouse gases – equivalent to the emissions from driving 235 million miles – and that is like planting 18 million trees.

Contributions to support renewable energy, carbon offsets and our new Solar Schools program are given by individuals and businesses either directly to us, or through their utility. The utilities help us with billing and collecting donations, and they pass contributions in their entirety to NC GreenPower every month.

All 3,300+ public and private K-12 schools in North Carolina that are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) or 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, are eligible to apply for the NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools grant. This represents about 1.6 million students. We've connected with a mere 3% of all students in our state so there is still much more to do.

When you contribute, you get the benefits of either 125 kWh of green energy on the grid, or 1,000 lbs of greenhouse gases that were mitigated! Annually, NC GreenPower contributors help to generate about 28 million kWh from renewable sources – which roughly equates to powering 1,900 homes for an entire year. Carbon Offset annual donations currently exceed 14 million pounds of greenhouse gases mitigated. That's like taking 1,700 cars off the road or like planting 1 million trees!

NC GreenPower was a landmark initiative and the first of its kind in the nation. The program connects people to renewable energy and carbon offset projects. By offering anyone the ability to support a cleaner future for North Carolina for as little as $4 a month, we bridge the gap between those who are unable to develop their own projects with those who need additional financial support through our incentive program.

The NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools program provides matching funds to North Carolina K-12 schools who cannot afford solar technology, giving teachers valuable tools to educate students about renewable energy. NC GreenPower will also provide monitoring equipment, a STEM curriculum, training and lesson plans for educators to use along with the solar PV installation across a variety of subjects, providing a hands-on experience for their students.

For information about the grant program and how to apply, visit http://www.ncgreenpower.org/solar-schools

We provide quarterly updates on our website to show what donations have supported, year to date.

NC GreenPower celebrated the completion of its first 5 kW solar PV project at Meadowview Magnet Middle School as part of its Solar Schools pilot program on Thursday, June 9, 2016 in Mt. Airy, NC.

The solar PV array with the monitoring equipment, weather station and curriculum will serve as an educational tool in the classrooms, and will likely produce enough renewable energy to power the school's main office. The solar PV system will save an estimated 6,570 kilowatt hours in electricity with a potential cost savings of $657 annually.

Since 2015, donors have helped NC GreenPower provide matching grants for the installation of solar PV at NC K-12 schools. The NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools offers the majority of the needed funding for small solar arrays and curriculum, giving teachers valuable tools to educate students about renewable energy. In October 2019, the NCUC approved our filing to transition the five-year pilot to the Solar+ Schools program. The new program focuses on renewable energy projects at schools but will still offer to consumers locally generated renewable energy credits (RECs), RECs for LEED points and event offsets, and carbon offsets.

Your contributions to the program continue to offset the higher costs associated with producing green energy and capturing greenhouse gases while also supporting our Solar Schools grant program. When you help us, you are helping provide cleaner energy sources and education to our students, benefiting all North Carolinians.