Dublin City Schools save money with new solar panels

The DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Dublin High School Fighting Irish take going green to a whole new level. Last year, the school district installed a solar plant farm on campus. School leaders say since they’ve turned on the power, they’ve saved a lot of green.

A simple flip of a switch equals big savings.

“We’re already seeing some changes on our checks for sure,” Michelle Thublin with Dublin City Schools said.

Dublin City Schools turned on the power to the 4,000 solar panels at Dublin High School six months ago. Thublin said in that amount of time, they are already seeing savings.

“We got our power bill back from this May and then we compared it to last May,” she said. “Last May it was about $18,000 and then this year, our power bill has dropped to $3,600."

Over time, the solar panels are going to save a lot of green. Thublin said at least $14 million over the next 40 years. All of the money saved will got back to the school district.

“That means we’re able to have more teachers, we’re able to provide better education for our students, we’re able to have more tests supplies,” Thublin said. “It’s just going to be better overall for sure."

The solar panels provide power to everyone on campus. It it is a gloomy day, the panels are still generating electricity.

Teachers are also using the green technology in their classrooms.

"It’s also been an education tool for them. We’ve had people, not just in science classes, but you know, they’ll come out for geometry and see how its all made up,” Thublin said.

It’s not just about saving money and energy. The school district is excited to be a leader in going green.

“We’re definitely the first in our size in the state to do it and if we can be the beacon, we’re excited to do it,"
Thublin said.

The school district is leasing the solar panels for the next 25 years at $300,000 per year.