Wanganui's St John's Hill School is plugged in and switched on to solar energy. And the school hopes the 12 new solar panels on its roof will take the heat out of its electricity bill.
The photovoltaic panels, worth about $30,000, were donated by Genesis Energy and have been placed across
the roof of a north-facing school block.
They are heated by the sun, creating a direct current that is then converted into an alternating current in an inverter, teacher Kevin Booth said. The electricity then goes into the school's distribution box and is used to run lights, heaters and computers.
The 12 panels are capable of generating enough electricity to power an average house, he said. The school will be able to find out how much electricity it is saving by consulting a website.
When the Chronicle visited the school recently to check progress on the solar energy projectthe St John's Hill School "solar team" turned on a musical number designed to tell the rest of the school about the panels.
Principal Michael Fitzgerald said he wanted the rest of the community to know too.
Pupils said the sun's energy was renewable - it wouldn't run out like water in a hydro lake does during a dry year.
They also knew that solar energy was created when protons in the sun's rays "excited" electrons in the panels, one of them said.
Mr Booth said the panels were part of being an Enviroschool and Genesis Energy would be sending an educator to work with pupils on other sustainable energy projects.
