NC GreenPower Announces 2019 Solar Schools Grant Recipients

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June 12, 2019

Contact: Katie Lebrato, Marketing Communications Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2017 NC GreenPower Solar School – Cove Creek School ribbon cutting

RALEIGH, NC – NC GreenPower is pleased to award five more North Carolina schools each with a grant worth up to $10,000 for the installation of an educational solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the campus of their school. They join 19 other grant recipients since the pilot program launched in 2015. The NC GreenPower Board of Directors’ review committee met this spring to evaluate applications and make selections for 2019’s pilot program.

The four selected schools who have currently accepted the grant are:

A fifth school will be awarded later this month.

Now in the fifth year of the solar schools pilot, the staff is confident about the positive future of NC GreenPower Solar Schools. “This year’s response to our Solar Schools program was great, and we are so excited to add four new counties, including schools from Coastal North Carolina for the first time in our program. By the end of 2019, we will have reached more than 26,000 students across the state. We are looking forward to providing each of these schools with our educational solar installation,” said Vicky McCann, vice president of NC GreenPower.

The selected schools will utilize the NC GreenPower fundraising website, my.NCGreenPower.org to raise their funds by Friday, September 27, 2019. My NCGreenPower is an online community that allows advocates of a cleaner, greener environment to join together for fundraising. Donations as little as $1 can be made to support any campaign.

The NC GreenPower Solar Schools program is open to all public and private K-12 schools in North Carolina. The installed solar PV systems serve as educational tools in the classroom but also 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 (kW) hours annually, potentially saving schools up to $803 per year. For updates about the pilot, visit www.ncgreenpower.org/solar-schools.

NC GreenPower is also pleased to announce that the member-funded State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Foundation is continuing its generous support for the Solar Schools program. The SECU Foundation’s contribution will provide challenge grants to this year’s awarded K-12 public schools, providing each school with $15,000. This will help to increase the size of their solar installation from 3 kW to 5 kW.

“SECU Foundation has been a long-term advocate of NC GreenPower and their educational and incentive programs to help raise awareness about renewable energy sources, and we are proud to be a supporting partner of the Solar Schools program,” said SECU Foundation Board Chair Bob Brinson.  “Together we are helping a greater number of schools integrate solar power as an alternative energy source – a worthy effort toward expanding renewable green power sources for the future of North Carolina’s ecological success.”

McCann continued, “We are so grateful to State Employees’ Credit Union members for their support over the last decade and look forward to our continued partnership to help improve the environment and support education in our state.”

About NC GreenPower

With the mission of improving the quality of the environment in North Carolina, the nonprofit NC GreenPower was founded in 2003 as a statewide program. NC GreenPower helps to connect consumers with renewable energy and carbon offset providers to create positive environmental and economic impacts for our state. All projects supported by the program are located in North Carolina. In 2015, NC GreenPower launched a new pilot to support solar PV installations at K-12 schools. Contributions to NC GreenPower are tax-deductible. For more information, visit www.ncgreenpower.org.

About SECU and the 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 82 years. The Credit Union also offers a diversified line of financial advisory services including retirement and education planning, tax preparation, insurance, trust and estate planning services, and investments through its partners and affiliated entities. SECU serves over 2.4 million members through 266 branch offices, nearly 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Member Services via phone and a website, www.ncsecu.org. 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 more than $154 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.