A total of 290 solar panels have been installed in a project at New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C. The project, which will power around 40 percent of the school, was funded through an EPA Climate Protection Reduction Grant. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Participants in the conservation club at New Kituwah Academy, known as Judaculla’s Kids, recently made history. The students flipped a switch on a solar power system for the school that will provide nearly half of the power for the school and have positive ramifications for decades.
Funding for this project came from an almost $5 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. In addition to the 121-kilowatt solar array at New Kituwah Academy, this grant funding will also help build an upcoming 52-kilowatt array at the Tribal Council House and TOP Building. This funding previously helped purchase 15 electric school buses for the Cherokee Boys Club fleet as well as build a 400-kilowatt solar microgrid and charging stations for that fleet.
Katie Tiger is now a program director at the Center for Native Health, but she helped secure the grant for the EBCI in her previous position as EBCI Air Quality program supervisor. “This was very important to me because we’ve been working on it since probably 2020, since the pandemic – thinking about this. We need to have an example for the community. People need to start seeing this in the community and how easy it is.”
She added, “It’s important for the kids. Think about what that does for them as they come to school every day and see this on their school. And, they understand what’s happening with these solar panels and that they’re providing electricity…this is essentially what we want them to teach their parents, their siblings, about conservation and why alternative energy and stuff like this is important.”
Kylie Crowe Shuler, New Kituwah Academy superintendent, said, “New Kituwah Academy is proud to be among the first EBCI facilities to have solar panels installed on our building. We were grateful for the opportunity to participate in this grant, and we look forward to seeing the positive outcomes the solar panels will bring to our campus.”
Judaculla’s Kids, a conservation group at New Kituwah Academy, celebrate after flipping the switch recently to start the new solar array project at the school. (Photo courtesy of Katie Tiger)
Crystal Carpenter, New Kituwah Academy principal, is very excited about the project. “I think the amazing thing for us is, one important aspect that we try to teach our students every day is their connection with their environment and how important it is to take care of it. I think the best way to teach that is to show as an example of what we’re doing within the community to be able to be a leader in preserving the resources around us. So, I think, in my opinion, the best way to teach students is to be an example for what you’re trying to teach them. So, having this visible and there and showing that we’re making an effort to protect the resources around us is a good example for our students to continue to do the same thing.”
She sees this project as having long-term positive influences on the students. “I also believe that the students that we serve now within the community here and at other schools will be the leaders in the community in the future. So, these students will be the ones guiding the future of the Tribe and the community. So, just providing an example of what is important is necessary.”
I think when they’re older and they’re in those leadership roles, what if they say, ‘you know, when I went to school at Kituwah, there were these solar panels’. And they can continue that initiative for years to come. I think that’s the most powerful impact we can have.”
Carolina Mountain Solar, based in Murphy, N.C., did the installation on the project.
Stewart Senger, with Carolina Mountain Solar, noted that there are 290 solar panels on the school. “The system should cover about 40 percent of the electric bill for the school.”
He said that power can be banked which will be very helpful with the changing weather of the mountains. “Duke Energy, for many years, had a very friendly solar program for people throughout North Carolina. It was basically a one-for-one exchange and that allowed you to make extra power during the day, bank it with Duke Energy, and then they would give it back to you in the evening. Or, if you made too much in the summertime and needed it in the winter, they hang onto it for up to 12 months for you and let you use it when you need it.”
Senger added, “So, say the school is closed for a week and they’re making lots of extra power, you could use it when they’re back in session. That saves a lot of money versus now, which they basically have to use it or lose it.”
He said the entire system is very durable. “The solar panels are incredibly stable because they’re really just glass, aluminum, and silicone. So, there’s not much to go wrong with them. The warranties on those are 20 years. The life expectancy on them is 30-40. Realistically, they may continue to work way beyond that…the inverters themselves, that’s usually the thing that is the most sensitive because, obviously, that’s electronics. They, though, have a 10-year warranty. So, still fairly long – longer than most cars. And they have a life span of 12-15 years.”
The weather does have an affect on the power output, but it might not be what you expect. Senger noted, “The colder it is, the higher the voltage, specifically. Cold and bright is the very best production. So, the solar panels really like really cold, really bright days. That’s when we oftentimes see our system hit its absolute maximum. It can make about 20 percent more when it’s really, really cold.”
Darius West will be the person at New Kituwah Academy responsible for managing the solar system. The back of the building has a grouping of eight inverters. “They convert the power that the panels bring in to the power that the building can use.”
He said the system is easy to work with. “It has small hiccups but they’re easy to reset…it’s pretty simple. We haven’t had any issues. So far, so good.”
