By Mark Eaton and Wafir Salih | wsalih@alextimes.com
Alexandria City Public Schools has learned that activation of the solar power installations at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, which opened last year, and the Minnie Howard Campus of Alexandria City High School, which opens this month, will cost $1.4 million.
On May 27, The Washington Post reported that Dominion Energy, Virginia’s electric utility, “began requiring upgrades for a ‘direct transfer trip’ which automatically disconnects a system, on some projects. That includes laying a dark fiber optic transmission line to a substation at a cost of $150,000 to $250,000 per mile and in some cases adding a relay panel that runs $250,000 for projects exceeding 250 kilowatts, raising costs by 20 to 40 percent.”
“Dark” fiber, as distinct from “lit” fiber, is buried fiber lines that are not being used. A direct transfer trip is a form of circuit breaker.
On Aug. 14, ACPS confirmed in response to a query that it will incur expenses for connecting solar equipment installed at Douglas MacArthur and Minnie Howard.
Jasmine Washington-Price from the ACPS communications office wrote in an email that the types of upgrades identified by the Post are necessary at Douglas MacArthur and Minnie Howard.
“Based on the information ACPS has received from Dominion, ACPS estimates that it will be responsible for $105,000 in unanticipated costs for network upgrades for Douglas MacArthur and approximately $1,300,000 for Minnie Howard,” Washington-Price wrote.
ACPS has also planned solar installations in future school renovation projects, for example, at George Mason Elementary School.
Washington-Price said while these costs were unexpected, they won’t change the district’s commitment to installing solar panels at future projects.
“There are no current plans to curtail or end solar installation projects, but additional funding will be required,” Washington-Price said in the email.
She said ACPS expects the cost of future projects to align with the current charges.
“Assuming Dominion charges the same costs for upgrades for these projects, we anticipate future elementary school projects would have similar costs to Douglas MacArthur (under $250,000),” Washington-Price wrote. The timeframe of when solar installations at the two newest ACPS schools will be operational is still uncertain.
“We are still working through the solar panel installation process with Dominion, and as a result, we are unable to project when the panels will be operational,” Washington-Price wrote. “However, we will provide an updated timeline once we are able to do so.”
The current effort to install solar panels on Alexandria buildings dates to 2019, when City Council adopted the Green Building Policy. The policy established a set of environmental standards to address energy efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions for new private and public developments.
The policy mandates that “city-owned buildings, including Alexandria City Public Schools,” must comply with these standards.
Ryan Freed, the city’s climate action officer, said public buildings are required to achieve net-zero emissions due to the policy. He also said while solar panels are not mandatory, they’re often installed.
“It’s not necessarily requiring solar panels on buildings, but it’s net-zero, which generally requires renewable energy and solar panels,” Freed said.
He also said solar energy can be predictable, thanks to the wealth of climate data collected over the years. The predictability helps with making better energy production estimates, which can reduce utility costs.
“[We] can predict with accuracy where the sun is going to be, what the angle of the sun is going to be and where it’s going to be in the sky. That helps us understand how much solar exposure a solar panel can get, so we use that to create an estimate of how much energy is going to be produced by the number of solar panels that we have on a building. That gives us the number of kilowatt hours – which is what you get billed for from the utility – so that helps us figure out how many fewer kilowatt hours we’re buying from the utility,” Freed said.
Freed said new buildings are great for incorporating solar energy because they’re already built to a higher efficiency standard.
“Making sure that you’re building the building to use as little energy as possible, and then putting solar on top of it, is the key,” Freed said.
Freed said Douglas MacArthur and the new Minnie Howard campus are star examples of energy efficiency.
“Douglas MacArthur and Minnie Howard both have geothermal heat pumps in them. That is the absolute peak of efficiency for HVAC systems, so they’re using considerably less energy than they would be than any other school building that doesn’t have that technology in it,” Freed said.
He said he could not speak to the specifics of how ACPS went about deciding how to install their solar panels, but said in a process like this they’d likely use a solar feasibility design.
“Ultimately they have to do a solar feasibility design to see how much solar they can get out of the property, how to place the solar panels and estimate how much energy the building’s going to use,” Freed said.
Freed noted that while there are many ways solar panels can be purchased, meeting the Green Building Policy’s net-zero requirements is the primary goal.
In December 2022, Dominion Energy introduced new regulations for mid-sized solar panel projects, which led to an increase in costs for those looking to do installations. On Aug. 30, 2023, Virginia’s State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion to suspend its new requirements. The commission stated that Dominion should have sought approval from the SCC before changing their requirements. The decision was rendered following a complaint by the Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance against Dominion.
Douglas MacArthur and Minnie Howard aren’t the first schools to get hit with a surprise increase in the price tag. Prince William County suspended a plan to place solar panels on Freedom High School after estimated expenses surged by $1 million following Dominion Energy’s new rules.
Dominion argued to the SCC that these new rules were necessary for safety and ensuring reliability.
Mayor Justin Wilson referenced how other solar projects in the state have been impacted by Dominion’s rules and the latest SCC decision in response to a query from the Times.
“This is a statewide issue that is impacting solar projects around the state. There have been proceedings before the State Corporation Commission and in courts on this issue,” Wilson said in an email. “The city has been closely watching this process and engaged with statewide organizations to support the necessary change to keep these solar projects on track.”
Wilson expressed optimism that the Douglas MacArthur and Minnie Howard solar projects can get done and at affordable costs.
“The city strongly supports this project and will continue to work with ACPS, Dominion and others to arrive at reasonable fees to move these projects forward,” Wilson said.
Dominion declined an interview request by the Times due to an ongoing SCC proceeding regarding the issue. A spokesperson for the company had agreed to provide a written summary on the interconnection requirements, but was unable to do so before the publishing deadline.