Tesla Energy recently completed installation of solar arrays on the roofs of the Creative Arts and Design Center, the Spieker Center for Performing Arts, and the Athletic Center. While some solar panels were already installed on the Athletic Center, this project expands the School’s solar energy capacity by 315%. Menlo also installed several additional charging stations for electric cars. The new solar arrays will offset an estimated 75-80% of the energy for those three buildings.

The solar arrays were installed at no cost to the School, which will pay Tesla Energy for the electricity they produce. Initial estimates project that the new solar system will save the school $96,000 per year in energy costs. Accepting the deal was “the no-brainer of all no-brainers,” says Loren Arms, Menlo Director of Operations and Construction.

Going solar is also a powerful step toward an ecologically sustainable future. Arms, who has long held an interest in conservation, notes that this is an exciting opportunity for the School to reduce its climate footprint for years to come. The new system will produce an estimated 332,000 kilowatt-hours per year of renewable solar power, lowering our contribution to fossil fuel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Final inspections are ongoing throughout the week of November 16, and Menlo expects to “flip the switch” and begin using its new solar arrays before the Thanksgiving break.