When the students of Mount Sinai School District return to class, their rooftops will be working just as hard as they are. The Long Island, New York school district has partnered with Ameresco, an energy infrastructure company, to install solar panels on all three of its schools — a project that will pay for itself many times over and give students a front-row seat to clean energy in action.
The $5.28 million project will place rooftop solar panels on the high school (~523.9 kilowatts), middle school (~570.5 kilowatts), and elementary school (~494.4 kilowatts). Ameresco Co-President Lou Maltezos said the solar arrays will be the biggest money saver for the district. Each year, they are expected to cut energy costs by just over $202,000. Over 30 years, the district is projected to save approximately $9.48 million compared to buying all its electricity from the utility company.
Beyond the financial upside, the new energy systems will bring real-world data into the classroom. The project includes a data system that lets students monitor how much electricity the solar panels are producing in real time. Teachers can use the live numbers to show kids how weather and seasons affect energy output — a hands-on way to learn science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts across all grade levels.
The solar panels are built to last. They are guaranteed to work for a minimum of 30 years, and even at the end of that span, they will still be putting out about 87% of the power they did when they were new. The panels come with a 25-year product warranty.
Installation of the panels themselves will take about six to eight weeks. The full project, including hooking up to the electrical grid and passing inspections, is expected to wrap up by the end of 2027. Ameresco plans to hire local workers for most of the trades involved, supporting jobs in the surrounding community.
For a school district, switching to solar means more money for classrooms, a cleaner environment, and a living lesson plan on the roof. Maltezos called the solar arrays the largest cost-saving measure in the project. For Mount Sinai, the sun is about to start doing some serious homework.