Hacienda La Puente Unified Finalizes Solar Project with Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
CITY OF INDUSTRY – The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District community celebrated the installation of solar panels throughout the District with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Los Altos High School on Feb. 16, which featured a performance from the school’s jazz band and solar panel information and displays.
The Board of Education approved the 4 MW Solar Project and the Solar Energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in October 2019, which funded the design, installation, operation and maintenance of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems at the District Office, Willow Adult Education Center and the District’s four comprehensive high schools.
The Solar PV panels are expected to reduce the District’s electrical costs and provide shade from the PV arrays for vehicles. The systems will also lower reliance on fossil-fuel generated electricity and are expected to provide enough clean energy to avoid the equivalent of approximately 4,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equal to removing nearly 1,000 passenger vehicles from the road per year.*
“After extensive planning and preparation, we are excited to celebrate the completion of this Solar Project with the District community,” Board President Jeffrey De La Torre said. “This investment benefits our schools and improves the health of our community by improving the air quality and helping protect the environment.”
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District worked with Luminace, one of the largest providers of distributed energy solutions to commercial, industrial and public sector customers in North America. Luminace developed and will continue to own and operate the Solar Project, at no upfront costs to HLPUSD.
The ceremony was attended by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Hacienda La Puente administrators, HLPUSD Board members and the greater community. Supervisor Solis presented the District with a certificate of commendation, recognizing Hacienda La Puente Unified’s efforts that benefit the residents of its District community. The District plans to explore the option of installing solar panels at other Hacienda La Puente elementary and middle school campuses.
“Thank you to the Board of Education, Associate Superintendent of Business Services Manoj Roychowdhury and Luminace for their ongoing commitment through the various phases of the Solar Project,” Superintendent Dr. Alfonso Jiménez said. “The Solar PV Panels installation moves the District’s master facility plan forward as we strive to provide safe, high-quality learning environments that support student achievement.”
* Avoided emissions calculations are based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.
About Luminace
Luminace is a leading fully integrated decarbonization-as-a-service provider in North America, sponsoring accessible, reliable, and renewable energy infrastructure to empower the zero-emissions future. Luminace has an operational and development portfolio of more than 4,000 megawatts of distributed energy resources, serving hundreds of customers in the educational, commercial, industrial, utility, and municipal sectors across the U.S. and Canada. Luminace offers a full suite of decarbonization solutions including solar, energy storage, EV solutions and energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits as well as grid-resiliency options, all at no upfront cost.
For additional information, please visit: www.luminace.com. Luminace is a Brookfield Renewable company. Brookfield Renewable operates one of the world’s largest publicly traded platforms for renewable power and decarbonization solutions.