Romeo School Gets Solar Power Plant

The Romeo Engineering and Technology Center has officially opened a 20-kilowatt solar generating system.

The installation was funded by a Michigan Renewable Schools Program grant applied for by the district's construction trades teacher, Craig Bryant.

The system will produce power which will be tied into the school as well as a house the district's construction trades class builds every year. Students will be able to learn about solar energy, monitor the power it produces, monitor the building's usage, and much more.

The district is also having a weather station installed, which monitors and displays the current conditions at  the school, such as barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, even UV/solar and more.

The district's next goal is a large scale wind turbine and an alternative energy curriculum.

The Michigan Renewable Schools Program was developed by Energy Works Michigan, a joint project of the Ecology Center and Recycle Ann Arbor, with a $3.5 million grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission.

The MRSP includes a coordinated set of programs for Michigan public and private K-12 schools designed to demonstrate energy technologies, raise public awareness, and educate the next generation so that they can fully contribute to meeting and exceeding the carbon reduction targets of The 2030 Challenge. These programs include solar power and wind turbine installations at 24 Michigan schools; energy engineering and planning services at 40 schools; curriculum development and teacher training; and partnerships between K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions to make students aware of training and job opportunities in green industries.

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