PGCPS updates on energy management: dashboards, solar, geothermal, LED retrofits and P3 community solar

Prince George's County Public Schools staff briefed the Climate Change Action Plan ad hoc committee on March 5 about implementation work under Priority 2 (reduce building carbon footprint) and Priority 3 (commit to renewable energy).

Dorothy Morrison, director of sustainability and resilience, said the district is prioritizing state grant opportunities and utility rebates to fund projects while federal support is uncertain. Morrison and program staff outlined three near-term tracks: collect baseline energy data and restore subscriptions for building energy dashboards; continue LED and HVAC projects supported by utility rebates (Empower Maryland); and advance solar through rooftop, ground-mounted and community solar procurement.

Program manager Sheila Stevens gave a status update on implementation activities. She said the district’s MEA-funded baseline-data pilot (the FY2022 decarbonizing-school grant) is moving toward completion and staff expect baseline monthly energy data soon to support benchmark reporting. Stevens also reported that six phase‑1 public‑private partnership (P3) schools will have rooftop solar installed in the upcoming summer construction window, and that a district community-solar PPA is under legal review; staff estimated that the community-solar project would yield roughly 2.5 megawatts of capacity when operational.

Jamie Alston described ongoing efforts to capture utility rebates through Empower Maryland and summarized recent LED retrofits. Alston said LED and other energy-efficiency projects at multiple recent school builds produced measurable kWh savings and that Empower Maryland rebates covered a substantial portion of retrofit costs. She noted the district has retrofitted roughly 30% of its building portfolio in a mix of schools, bus lots and administrative buildings, and that an additional six rooftop solar projects are scheduled to come online this summer (bringing the rooftop count beyond the five schools that currently have panels).

Other implementation notes staff reported:

- Geothermal: the district currently operates 11 geothermal schools; seven of eight design/construction phase 2 schools are planned for geothermal systems where feasible. - Dashboards & data: the district is renewing subscriptions and procuring dashboards to provide near-real-time energy data for schools; staff plan curricular uses for dashboards so teachers and students can view energy use and anomalies. - Microgrid pilot: the Mullaton (Bowie) bus-lot microgrid pilot continues with weekly project calls; battery-backup scope had changed and staff said they would report future opportunities. - Composting & waste: staff reported 35 schools currently run compost programs and expect to reach 45 next academic year.

Why it matters: staff emphasized that rebates and grant programs materially reduce upfront costs and improve payback periods on efficiency projects. Stevens presented an aggregate view of rebate dollars and estimated annual cost avoidance for the most recent eight new builds, showing significant annual energy-cost avoidance tied to installed efficiency measures.

What the committee asked staff to do: members requested a public, up-to-date list of schools that have completed or scheduled retrofits and solar installations; staff agreed to share the capital program and feasibility-study links. Several members asked that professional development be provided for teachers on new dashboards and that facilities and transportation coordinate on charging infrastructure and electric-bus deployment.

Ending: staff said they will continue pursuing MEA grants and utility rebates and will circulate a project list, the community-solar PPA status and the energy-baseline timeline to the committee for follow-up.