Like the midday sun itself, things are looking up for solar-powered education in the communities Tampa Electric serves. For evidence, look no further than Lawton Chiles Elementary School in Tampa.
Chiles Elementary, the site of a 10-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) array installed by Tampa Electric in January, held its first “solar day” on May 16, with its second a day later. Students realized the possibilities of solar power through solar-powered toy car races, a water filtration system powered by the sun, a solar-powered barbecue and other projects.
“The solar days at Chiles might be the best example I’ve seen so far of how much fun students can have learning about solar power,” said Shelly Aubuchon, program manager with Energy Management Services. “It shows what schools and the greater community can achieve when we partner on sustainable initiatives with PV arrays like this one.”
Among those attending the solar day on May 17 was Patrick Sheehan, director of the Office
of Energy with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
“A (PV) system that reduces energy costs for the school, powers an emergency shelter and serves as a living tool for the students is a triple win,” Sheehan said.
The solar days were the brainchild of Sharon Cutler, who teaches science and technology to fourth and fifth graders in the gifted program at Chiles. Cutler said the school paid for its solar days using money collected through its recycling program. She called the school’s PV array a big success – and just the start of how the school hopes to factor solar education into its curriculum.
“Tampa Electric has been very helpful through the entire solar panel installation process,” Cutler said. “Hopefully as other schools install arrays, they’ll make them as prominent as Chiles has. It’s important for the solar array to be obvious to the students, both visually and in terms of how we educate them about how it works and its benefits.”
The students’ discoveries about the potential of photovoltaic power were just some of the
solar day’s unexpected moments. Around noon, amid the whir of solar-powered toys and gadgets behind the school, shrieks of delight erupted. One of the students’ solar-powered hot air balloons had broken free of its tether. Filled with the power of the sun, it floated up and into the sky.
Visit tampaelectric.com/renewable to learn more about Tampa Electric’s Renewable Energy program.
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