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Last updated: 19 June 2002

It may be a cliché, but it is also fact: the youth of today are decision makers of the future. Educating youngsters today about PV - what it is, how it works and how it ties in with global sustainability - is essential in helping to maximise future acceptance of solar electricity. PV in schools initiatives are beginning to take off worldwide. Below we touch on a few of the most prominent examples.

Scholar power - the key to a PV future In the USA, the Utility Photovoltaic Group (UPVG) is monitoring the solar initiatives of schools nationwide through its Schools Going Solar Campaign (part of a wider public education campaign supported by US Department of Energy). Schools are an idea showcase for solar projects as changes and improvements are highly visible and closely followed. Some schools are using PV to solve on-site energy needs such as lighting, while in other cases utilities have installed PV on school buildings as part of green-pricing programmes. Students then have an opportunity to study the operation and assess the benefits of solar technologies first-hand, often as part of formal science classes. So far Schools Going Solar encompasses 38 projects - covering passive and solar thermal applications, as well as PV - across the country. One utility has discovered a novel approach to support the introduction of PV. Under its 'SolarSchools' programme, Detroit Edison's commercial customers can help promote PV through partnership with local schools. Each participating school receives an annual credit towards its electricity bill, donated by its business partner, for 2 000 kWh of electricity generated from Detroit Edison's Southfield solar electric plant.

In New South Wales, Australia, 18 schools across the state will receive 2 kWp PV systems under an initiative of energy service provider, Integral Energy. The systems were sponsored through customers' voluntary payments on top of their normal energy bill. The performances of the various systems are fully monitored with the data accessible via the Internet, which provide a valuable learning tool for students.

A number of different PV in Schools programmes are under way across Europe, ranging from the collaboration between Bayernwerk utility and Siemens Solar, which provided 500 1 kWp kits instructions and teaching materials to schools in Bavaria, to the government supported Scolar Programme in the UK - which aims to provide 100 schools with 1 kWp PV systems and computer-based monitoring facilities linked via the Internet.

Under the framework of the European Union's Altener Programme, a consortium of organizations from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and UK is currently drawing-up guidelines for a PV in Schools and Public Buildings campaign, which could be implemented by EU members states as part of a wider information initiative. This has involved the appraisal of existing programmes throughout the four countries to establish best practice in this area. A brochure describing the findings is being prepared and will be available from April 2000.

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