St. Charles Parish Public Schools has unveiled its first interactive, renewable energy learning lab at Norco Elementary School. This makes it the first school in the district to benefit from the cutting-edge renewable energy partnership program with Shell Norco.

The solar project is an on-site solar grid and a cutting-edge solar lab with learning dashboards linked to solar panels. This will include various equipment and tools tied to renewable energy (such as bikes that generate battery power) along with written and digital media related to renewable energy resources. 

A substantial amount of the facilities at Norco Elementary School are now being fed by solar power,” Regina McMillan, Director of Public Information at St. Charles Parish Public Schools said. “Additionally, the project will enhance student learning with dashboard monitoring and an interactive renewable energy resource lab to come.”

The overall cost of the project is $720,000, which the the tax benefits and government rebate generated over the project’s 20-year life span, will offset over 30 percent of the of the total project cost.

The project will supply power to Norco Elementary School, and the unused generated power will be fed back to Entergy, potentially yielding financial benefits. 

It’s not uncommon for companies to install solar panels free of charge and make money off the energy sold to the customer, or for schools to utilize solar energy.

It would also expose St Charles Parish students to career paths in the green energy sector, according to John Rome, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, at St. Charles Parish Public School board.

“We are getting the benefits from the various grants and contributions from entities like Shell and then being able to experience the government rebates, this will reduce energy cost over time across schools, So it’s a win-win all the way around,” he said.