Four Wake County Public Schools Are Newest Solar+ Schools Grant Recipients

August 19, 2022

Contact: Katie Lebrato, Marketing Communications Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 19, 2022

• Program awards educational solar installations to 20 North Carolina schools
• State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation provides generous grant to program

RALEIGH, NC – NC GreenPower is pleased to award 20 North Carolina schools each with a solar educational package, valued at approximately $42,000. In addition to a solar array, the schools will receive STEM curricula, teacher training and more.

The program is happy to add four Wake County Public Schools to the list of 2022 grant recipients this year. Apex Friendship High School, Green Level High School, Kingswood STEM Montessori Elementary School and Wake STEM Early College High School join as the newest schools slated to receive an educational solar installation. Two others were announced last month: Discover Charter School and McGee’s Crossroads Middle School. The full list of 2022 Solar+ Schools follows.

1. Apex Friendship High School, Wake County
2. Brevard Academy, Transylvania County*
3. Camden Middle School, Camden County*
4. Cox Mill High School, Cabarrus County
5. Discovery Charter School, Durham County
6. Eckerd Connects Residential Boys Academy, Wilkes County
7. Elon Elementary School, Alamance County*
8. Fairview Elementary School, Guilford County
9. Green Level High School, Wake County
10. Harrells Christian Academy, Sampson County*
11. Hope Academy, Guilford County
12. Kingswood STEM Montessori Elementary School, Wake County
13. Langtree Charter Academy, Iredell County*
14. McGee’s Crossroads Middle School, Johnston County*
15. Reid Ross Classical School, Cumberland County*
16. Rockford Elementary School, Surry County
17. Traphill Elementary School, Wilkes County
18. Wake STEM Early College High School, Wake County
19. Watauga High School, Watauga County
20. Winston-Salem Montessori, Forsyth County*

*Indicates new county to the NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools program

“We are thrilled to work in eight new counties this year, and in particular to serve so many schools from the Piedmont area,” said Vicky McCann, vice president of NC GreenPower. “We are proud to continue educating younger generations about solar energy. By the end of next year, we will have reached more than 56,600 students across North Carolina.”

Using NC GreenPower’s fundraising platform, each school has until September 30, 2022, to raise a portion of the funds required. Donations as little as $1 can be made to support any campaign. Visit our website, www.ncgreenpower.org, to find a fundraising campaign and learn how to donate.

The NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools program is open to all public and private K-12 schools in North Carolina. The installed photovoltaic systems, which are 5 kilowatts, serve as educational tools and provide an energy impact, likely producing enough renewable energy to power a school’s main office. The solar arrays have generated an average of 8,026 kilowatt-hours annually, potentially saving schools up to $800 per year. Collectively, NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools have saved an estimated $68,400 in electricity expenses since the program’s introduction in 2015.

NC GreenPower is also happy to announce that the member-funded State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Foundation is maintaining its generous support of Solar+ Schools. The SECU Foundation’s contribution will offer additional funding — up to $600,000 over the next three years — to assist with installation costs for ten selected public schools per year.

“We are pleased to continue our support for this expanding program that is providing positive and valuable results for schools, teachers and students around the state,” said Jama Campbell, SECU Foundation executive director. “Teaching students at an early age about solar as an energy source is important to our energy needs of today and tomorrow, and we appreciate NC GreenPower’s commitment to this educational effort.”

NC GreenPower’s McCann added, “We are appreciative of SECU members for their continued financial support and partnership, helping us improve the environment and increase solar education in our state.”

ABOUT NC GREENPOWER

Formed by Advanced Energy in 2003, NC GreenPower is a nonprofit whose mission is to expand public knowledge and acceptance of cleaner energy technologies to all North Carolinians through local, community-based initiatives.

Since NC GreenPower’s inception, donors have supported more than 1,125 local renewable energy and carbon offset projects, producing 1.06 billion kilowatt-hours of green energy and mitigating nearly 97,000 tons of greenhouse gases. In 2015, NC GreenPower launched Solar+ Schools to support solar photovoltaic installations at K-12 schools. Contributions to NC GreenPower are tax deductible. For more information, visit www.ncgreenpower.org.

ABOUT SECU AND SECU FOUNDATION

A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 85 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $53 billion in assets and serves over 2.6 million members through 274 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Member Services via phone, www.ncsecu.org and a 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 $216 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.