Board approves solar arrays, door hardware replacement bids

WARREN — Two projects are on the horizon in Warren Woods Public Schools.

At the Dec. 11 Board of Education meeting, the school board approved two separate bids by 6-0 votes: one for the installation of solar arrays on the Warren Woods Tower High School roof, and one for door hardware replacement at various schools.

For the roof, the board approved a bid to dGEN Energy Partners for $799,799. The company is based in Sheridan, Wyoming, with a mailing address in Niles, Michigan. Funds from the 2023 energy bond issue will cover the cost.

The school board also approved a bid to C.E. Door and Hardware, based in Rockwood, Michigan, for a $124,109 door hardware project. The cost will be covered with $70,348.41 from the Section 97 school safety grant and $53,760.59 from the 2020 bond issue.

 

Warren Woods Tower roof
According to district documents, the bid includes the design and installation of a 360-kilowatt rooftop solar array consisting of approximately 665 550-watt bifacial solar panels that will produce about 441,000 kW per year.

Ameresco, an engineering services company, will oversee the final design and coordination of the roof replacement. According to district Deputy Superintendent Neil Cassabon, a solar array is a collection of multiple solar panels operating as one system.

“Currently, there are not any solar panels at WWT,” Cassabon said via email. “We are adding solar as a way to reduce our energy costs by generating our own electricity via solar energy. It will significantly reduce our electric bills.”

The project will include the replacement of approximately 67,000-square feet of the second-floor roof of the high school. The solar panels are bifacial, which means they can collect energy from both the front and back of the panels.

The Warren Woods Tower roof will be replaced with a white roof that will reflect the sunlight to the back side of the panels for up to 25% additional power gain. Once installed, school officials estimate the solar array will save approximately $27,000 in energy costs per year at the school.

At last month’s meeting, the board only approved the bid for the solar array. The replacement of the roof will be done in a different bid package, which is still being developed.

In an effort to save money, district officials have applied for direct pay credits from the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) program to offset between 40% and 60% of the cost of the project.

 

Door hardware package
The door hardware replacement project includes door handles and locking mechanisms in each door. The plan is to have the project underway at this school and have it completed by the end of summer 2024.

According to Cassabon, school officials will replace some of the district’s old classroom door hardware at Warren Woods Middle School (111 units), Briarwood Elementary School (13 units) and the district’s education center (66 units).

The seven-member school board only had six members present at the Dec. 11 meeting because the district was undergoing a transition after the recent resignation of longtime board President Jere Green. Jennifer Nitz was recently appointed to fill the vacancy and will serve her first meeting Jan. 22, 2024.