This middle school in Lumber Bridge, N.C., built via a public-private partnership and designed to achieve LEED Platinum status, incorporates more than 2,300 solar panels that, collectively, generate an estimated 589.5 kilowatts of electricity annually, or about 30% more than the school will require, project officials estimate.
As a result, project developer FirstFloor K-12 Solutions estimates that, over the next 40 years, the county will save about $16 million on its energy bills, exceeding the facility's $15.1-million construction cost. The science-technology-engineering-math school was built in just 12 months and under budget.