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Porterville High School, Monache High School, Harmony Magnet Academy, Strathmore High School, and the Porterville Adult School.

It all started with a grant PUSD applied for in 2009. It was not until Aug. of 2010 when the district was awarded $25,000,000 in stimulus funds from the School Construction Bond, specifically designated for school construction.

“The project started in April of 2011, and is scheduled for completion by Jan. 1st, 2012,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Ken Gibbs. “The district was looking for a way to reduce our energy costs, and the grant made this possible.”

The savings will soon amass to $1,000,000 a year in energy cost once the project is completed. The money saved will be put towards school related costs.

“The upfront cost is a lot when putting in solar panels, but [in the long run] it is worth it,” said science teacher at Granite Stacy Vehrs. “I love the solar panels that I have at my house; they definitely save tons of money.”

SunPower, a California company that specializes in solar energy, is heading the project up. The total cost for the solar panels amounts to $22,740,927.

The total energy created is estimated at seven million Kilowatt hours per year from the solar panels.

“We will be reporting the energy savings to the Board of Trustees as they are generated,” said Gibbs.

Granite and the Porterville Adult School will both have ground mounted solar panels. Porterville will be using fixed parking shade for the panels to be mounted on while Monache, Harmony Magnet, and Strathmore will all be using tracking parking shades. The tracking parking shades will be placed above the available parking lots, thus providing shade.

“I think that the solar project will be of great benefit to not only Granite Hills but to our entire district,” said Ernestina Quintero, senior at Granite. “I am excited to see how it will all turn out.”