DevelopOhio

A 704-kW solar panel array to be installed on the roofs of the Federal Hocking High School and Middle School will drastically reduce the facility’s electricity costs, The Athens Messenger reports. The array is part of the Solar ACCESS pilot project, a collaboration between UpGrade Ohio, Third Sun Solar and New Resource Solutions; the partnership “aims to increase access and participation in the solar economy for low or moderate income areas.” Solar ACCESS “was selected as one of 35 projects around the country in the U.S. Department of Energy’s ‘Solar in your community’ challenge,” according to the article. Federal Hocking Superintendent George Wood said the facility’s monthly electric costs are estimated to “go from $1,600–$1,700 down to about $200,” and that “[t]his investment will pay off for many, many years; both in dollars and in generation of clean energy.”