Past Year Schools

The 2020 Solar+ Schools Grant Recipients have been announced!

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NC GreenPower is pleased to award 10 North Carolina schools each with a grant worth up to $27,000 for the installation of an educational solar photovoltaic (PV) array. Each school will also receive approximately $14,000 in related benefits that include donated SunPower solar modules, a STEM curriculum and teacher training. This is the first time that NC GreenPower is expanding its Solar+ Schools program to 10 schools — each of the previous five years awarded a maximum of five.

The new schools join 32 other grant recipients since the program launched in 2015. The 10 schools that accepted the grant are:

Hidden Valley Elementary School – Mecklenburg County
Island Montessori School – New Hanover County
Junius H. Rose High School – Pitt County
Mountain View Intermediate School – Macon County | Ribbon cutting event photos
NE Academy for Aerospace & Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT) – Pasquotank County
Pembroke Elementary – Robeson County
Reaching All Minds Academy – Durham County | Ribbon cutting event photos
South Stanly High School – Stanly County
The Fletcher Academy – Wake County
Western Union Elementary – Union County

Questions should be emailed to solarschools@ncgreenpower.org.Submitted questions and answers regarding our Solar+ Schools program can be found here in our FAQ section. Need help convincing your school? Download this “Why your school should apply” document for some great reasons.

[THE 2020 APPLICATION IS CLOSED] The 2020 application information and preview question documents are available at the links below. The application will be available starting January 2, 2020. NC GreenPower estimates that there will be funding for five to ten school grants for this year’s program. The total number of awards will be dependent on donations made to the program. NC GreenPower’s grant will pay for a portion of the project’s construction cost, up to a maximum of $14,000. School fundraising goals will be fixed, based on a scaled model, and will range from $6,000 – $12,000. To estimate your school’s fundraising goal, download this Excel file. Applications for the 2021 year will be accepted starting January 2, 2021.

2019 Schools

We are 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 five selected schools for our 2019 year are:

The Center of Applied Sciences and Technology (COAST), Bolivia – Brunswick County
Charles P. Murray Middle School, Wilmington – New Hanover County
Hurley Elementary School, Salisbury – Rowan County
Peachland-Polkton Elementary School, Peachland – Anson County
Sunny View Elementary School, Mill Spring – Polk County

* Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2019 Solar Schools pilot. Questions should be emailed to solarschools@ncgreenpower.org.

2018 Schools

The NC GreenPower Board of Directors’ review committee selected the following schools for 2018:

Athens Drive Magnet High School, Raleigh – Wake County | Solar PV data here
Edgecombe Early College High School, Tarboro – Edgecombe County | Solar PV data here | Ribbon cutting event photos
Rocky Mount Preparatory School, Rocky Mount – Nash County | Solar PV data here | Ribbon cutting event photo
Uwharrie Charter Academy, Asheboro – Randolph County | Solar PV data here | Ribbon cutting event photos
West Wilkes High School, Millers Creek – Wilkes County | Solar PV data here | Ribbon cutting event photos

* Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2018 Solar Schools pilot. Questions should be emailed to solarschools@ncgreenpower.org.

Huge thanks to the State Employees Credit Union Foundation for their matching challenge grant of $10,000 for each of our 2015 pilot schools!

We are pleased to announce that solar schools awarded in the first year of the pilot have successfully raised their funds for a 5 kW solar PV array to be installed at their school! All 2015 NC GreenPower solar schools have received their $10,000 grant from NC GreenPower and a matching challenge grant of $10,000 from the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) Foundation.

We want to thank all the donors who contributed money to the schools through our fundraising website or by other means.

The four selected schools for 2015 are:

CE Jordan High School + -

Durham, NC – Durham County

Solar PV data here

East Columbus High School + -

Lake Waccamaw, NC – Columbus County

Solar PV data here

Meadowview Magnet Middle School + -

Mt Airy, NC – Surry County

Solar PV data here

New Bern High School + -

New Bern, NC – Craven County

Solar PV data here

Duke Energy, through Raleigh-based nonprofit NC GreenPower, announced that it would pay $300,000 to install a solar power system at eight North Carolina Schools. The program will spur the generation of more clean energy, while creating a learning environment for students. Any K-12 school served by Duke Energy Carolinas could apply.

Modeled after NC GreenPower’s Solar Schools program, this particular initiative will pay for 100 percent of the installation costs for rooftop or top-of-pole mounted systems on school property. The program also provides monitoring equipment, training and curriculum to students and teachers. NC GreenPower will administer the program in conjunction with and in addition to our own statewide Solar Schools pilot program. More information can be found here. The program is part of a recent settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups.

The following schools were selected: