In 2019 I was among a group of citizens who worked with the MG School Board to form a workgroup of local experts who could look for opportunities in our district to reduce our environmental footprint and energy costs. 

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Two years later, in March 2022, construction will begin at the High School on what will be the largest rooftop solar array on any K-12 facility in the state. To put this into perspective, there are over 2000 school facilities in Wisconsin in over 400 districts. 

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The array will generate approximately 50% of the building’s electrical needs, cutting utility bills enough to put the project in a cash-flow-positive status the very first year. Over its 30-year lifetime, the array will save an estimated $1.5 million, or more, if the cost of electricity rises, which it likely will.

From an environmental perspective, our clean, solar-generated electricity will reduce our use of traditional coal-fired electricity enough to prevent the burning of over 16,000 tons of coal and its associated, harmful air emissions and pollutants. 

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Our school district and its hard-working leaders are doing impressive things, and in many ways, the ground for this project had been prepared years ago with energy efficiency initiatives.

Being a part of this committee, working together with a diverse group with various backgrounds and areas of expertise, through project selection, data analysis, grant-writing, public outreach and now construction has been a tremendous growth opportunity.  There is so much our community can learn and borrow from this project and I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences and resources with the city, so we too can reap similar benefits. 

​Learn more about the MGHS Solar Project at: https://www.mononagrove.org/welcome/mghs-solar-project.cfm