MAPS hosts Solar Day

MARQUETTE -- Marquette Area Public Schools held a "Solar Day" on Monday, allowing students the opportunity to hear from lawmakers and electric industry experts on the role they see the renewable energy source playing in the future.

"This day is about educating our students and actually our staff as well, … on some of the topics that relate to this," MAPS science teacher Becky Simmons said. "We're trying to become experts on energy in the area and also learn about the solar projects, so that we can help to inform the public and then better inform our administration for decisions they make in the future."

Simmons said as school districts across the country face growing expenses, such as more costly energy bills, they often resort to making cuts to programming and staff numbers.

"We're not an income-generating system, and so unless we have more students, that's really our sweet spot for getting more money coming in," Simmons said. "So those are the types of things -- we have to increase programming, we have to become more attractive as a school district to get more students in our district and do everything we can to not make those cuts."

Simmons is director of MAPS Makerspace, where students are planning to create a solar lab, which will be established through donations and grant funding. Along with the indoor installation of a Tesla home battery, a solar panel is expected to be erected on the roof of the Marquette Senior High School, with students using it to gather data and provide information to administrators.

One of the Solar Day speakers was Rep. Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, who said the cost of energy is a widely discussed topic, particularly for residents of the Upper Peninsula.

"Our energy costs are high and everyone is looking for a better solution," he said. "So for this school district to be able to say 'We're looking ahead to be able to use the data that we're getting to back up the facts to make it attractive to change,' I think that's the biggest thing you're going to have on your side because people understand the cost."

Dianda also discussed the "microgrid" approach to regional energy systems where energy is generated locally across many sites, rather than relying on transmission networks and power being brought in from fewer outside sources.

"Having these smaller systems set up as a microgrid makes a lot more sense because you control your own destiny with the power in the U.P.," Dianda said. "We had a lot of discussion (at the legislative level) about companies from lower Michigan wanting to bring power from lower Michigan all the way up, crossing the Straits of Mackinac, and a lot of us just felt very strongly that puts a lot of eggs in one basket, where we don't have the reliability."

Dianda, a member of the House Energy Committee, said the microgrid approach may offset some expenses related to building new transmission lines, as well as provide local jobs.

Dianda said discussing customer choice in the energy market will likely be a top priority for the House committee, and that he is currently working on legislation aimed at providing residents with tax credits to help with the cost of installing solar systems on their homes.

"I think that's very much going to be the driver to … get the prices down from the initial cost that you're going to have for the equipment," he said. "But I think that's a good starting point to get people really interested in it with a tax credit. We do that on a lot of things in Michigan. We do a lot of business tax credits that sometimes really don't pay a lot of dividends for the state, and I think that would be something that would pay a lot of dividends for our consumers out there."

Meanwhile, MAPS' fundraising efforts are ongoing in an attempt to gather money for technology purchases related to a nationwide contest the district is competing in.

MAPS was chosen as a state finalist in the Samsung "Solve for Tomorrow" contest, earning it $25,000. It is now competing for a top 10 spot, which includes a $50,000 award. From there, three winners will be selected for technology grants of $150,000 each.

The grant money, along with donations received through a crowdsourcing fundraiser will allow for the district to purchase technology to support the solar project.

To learn more about the project or to make a donation, visit www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/building-steam-at-marquette-area-public-schools.

Ryan Jarvi can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 270. His email address is rjarvi@miningjournal .net.