NC Schools Receiving 20-kilowatt Rooftop Solar Arrays from NC GreenPower

• Solar+ Schools awards 20-kilowatt solar installations to nine schools
• State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation provides generous grant to program

NC GreenPower is excited to announce the recipients of the 2024 Solar+ Schools grant. This year, nine schools will receive a solar educational package that includes a fully-funded 20-kilowatt (kW) solar array, STEM curriculum, teacher training and more.

The grant pays for all of the project’s construction costs, which is expected to be $55,000-$75,000. Schools should raise $3,500 to cover any future operations and maintenance expenses. The included weather station and data monitoring equipment will incorporate live information from the arrays into classrooms, and teachers will be able to compare weather scenarios and involve students in reading and interpreting the energy data.

The 2024 NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools awardees are:

• Williamsburg Elementary School — Rockingham County
• STEM Early High School — Vance County*
• Washington County High School — Washington County*
• Mattamuskeet School — Hyde County*
• Northern Granville Middle School — Granville County*
• The Capitol Encore Academy — Cumberland County
• Chicod School — Pitt County
• Ridgewood Elementary School — Pitt County
• Middle College at University of North Carolina-Greensboro — Guilford County

*Indicates new county in the Solar+ Schools program

In 2024, the Solar+ Schools program accepted applications from public K-12 schools in Tier 1 and 2 counties in North Carolina. For the awarded schools, the installed 20-kW photovoltaic systems will serve as educational tools and will provide an energy impact depending on each school’s arrangement with its local electric utility. Since Solar+ Schools’ introduction in 2015, program recipients have saved about $100,000 cumulatively in electricity expenses, and the STEM and solar curriculum training has benefited more than 280 teachers and 62,000 students throughout the state.

The member-funded State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Foundation has been a long-time advocate of NC GreenPower and continues to generously back the Solar+ Schools program. In 2022, the SECU Foundation contributed a grant of up to $600,000 extending through 2024 to provide additional funding and assist with installation costs for awarded schools.

“NC GreenPower’s Solar+ Schools initiative is a unique and innovative project that continues to produce energy savings and educational benefits for our schools and our state,” said SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell. “We couldn’t be more pleased to help outfit nine schools with a working solar array system for students and our communities to learn more about solar power’s impact as an alternative energy source for today and years to come.” 

About SECU and SECU Foundation

A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for over 86 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $54 billion in assets. It serves nearly 2.8 million members through 275 branch offices, 1,100 ATMs, Member Services Support via phone, www.ncsecu.org, and the SECU Mobile App. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high-impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and human services. Since 2004, SECU Foundation has made a collective financial commitment of over $258 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.