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Hesperia Unified School District Celebrated for Saving $660,000 Through Energy Efficiency

Posted on: Monday, 3 March 2008, 18:00 CST

Students at Sultana High School and Desert Trails High School were honored today by the Alliance to Save Energy for "thinking and acting green."

Through the Alliance's Green Schools Program, students, faculty, and staff lowered energy costs in the Hesperia Unified School District by more than $660,000 over a five-year period. In addition to saving money, the participating schools' energy savings reduced the district's CO2 emissions more than 2,000 tons. The district also returned half the savings to the schools for further energy-efficiency activities and educational materials such as textbooks and computers.

The Alliance to Save Energy (www.ase.org) is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy, and national security. The Alliance's programs include policy advocacy, consumer outreach, and K-12 and college-level education programs.

The Alliance's Green Schools Program, supported by Southern California Edison (SCE), is a comprehensive program for K-12 schools that engages students in project-based, real-world learning, encourages energy-conserving habits, and saves money for school districts by lowering their energy use and costs. The students led a campaign to involve their schools in participating in energy-efficiency activities such as plugging computers into power strips with timers. Sultana students used their diagnostic tools to sleuth out energy waste, and were able to reduce total lighting use by half.

Today's recognition event focused on the student leadership that achieved the energy savings and included an awards ceremony, displays of energy-efficiency projects at a number of district schools, and a school tour showing the students' energy-efficiency measures.

Alliance President Kateri Callahan presented an award to each of the two high schools, which she called "shining examples of schools that empower students to lead the way to greater energy efficiency in their schools and in their communities at large."

During the awards ceremony, California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey addressed the commission's commitment to energy efficiency and its appreciation for Green Schools.

"California citizens need to embrace our new energy future," Peevey said. "Schools have the mandate to teach, and young people have the opportunity to learn, in depth, about this critical issue of our time through programs such as Green Schools, which help them grow into more knowledgeable, energy-efficient adults."

SCE President John Fielder noted that today's students will bring about tomorrow's advances in energy efficiency. "We look forward to meeting the tremendous challenge of climate change with a new generation of innovators that can build on Edison's accomplishments and further transform the way our customers save energy, save money and save the environment," he said.

Hesperia Mayor Mike Leonard observed that the Green Schools Program is helping to create a new green economy in the town and that the students are engaging the larger community and acting as role models for Hesperia citizens of all ages on how to save money on energy costs at home and in local businesses.

The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy, and national security.

Source: Business Wire

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