Education
Education

School to make electricity, and money, with flood plain

By Ty Tagami
June 1, 2016

A Georgia school plans to harness some of its land to generate renewable energy.

Darlington School, a boarding school in Rome, will break ground in July on a project that will bring a 900-kilowatt solar array to a flood plain that is not suitable for a school building.

The project, valued at over $900,000, will cost the school nothing while generating revenue because it’s paid for by Inman Solar. The company signed a 25-year lease on the parcel and will sell the energy to Georgia Power, while paying Darlington for use of the land.

Construction should take six weeks after the project start on July 5. Once operational, the array should generate enough energy to power 200 residential properties, according to the school’s estimates.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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