The Maple Heights Board of Education on Oct. 27 approved agreements that clear the way for a county-led rooftop solar installation at Maple Heights High School and accepted a grant from Growth Opportunity Partners to help pay for the work.

Valerie Katz, deputy administrator for the Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works, told the board the preliminary design calls for a roughly 200-kilowatt array composed of 374 modules mounted on a ballasted racking system that avoids roof penetrations. "This particular system will offset approximately 8 to 10% of the building's energy usage," Katz said.

Katz said structural and electrical engineering reviews found the high school roof and electrical service have capacity for a commercial-scale rooftop system. The developer selected for the project is Compass Energy Platform and the installer is Yellow Light. The county and Ohio Schools Council advised districts that Maple Heights may "piggyback" on the county procurement under the Ohio Revised Code rather than run a separate RFP, shortening the procurement timeline.

Growth Opportunity Partners ("GrowthOps"), a community-focused financial institution, pledged a grant specifically for Maple Heights to help complete installation. Michael Jeans, GrowthOps founding CEO, said GrowthOps committed $250,000 in broader grant funds to the program and that the Maple Heights award is roughly $102,500 to support the district's installation.

The developer's preliminary financial analysis projects first-year energy savings of about $20,000–$22,000 and, based on forecasted increases in grid electricity prices, an estimated $950,000 in cumulative energy-bill savings with roughly $850,000 in net savings over the system's useful life. Katz attributed those estimates to the project's financial model and said the district should budget for occasional operation-and-maintenance costs — developers typically recommend setting aside $2,000–$3,000 per year — and expect to replace the inverter in year 15 at an estimated cost of $30,000–$35,000.

Superintendent Dela Flora and GrowthOps staff emphasized educational benefits. Sandra Miller, GrowthOps chief of staff, said the organization hopes the project will be used in curriculum and career-technical learning, and that GrowthOps can help with curriculum design and internships. Katz said installers typically provide monitoring apps that staff and students can use to track real-time energy production; she and GrowthOps said they would work with the district to make monitoring available on classroom devices.

Board members asked whether maintenance staff could be trained to perform routine inspections; Katz said installer-led training is recommended and available. Questions about roof repairs and the choice of ballast-mounted racking were answered by Katz, who said the building and roof are relatively new and that the ballast system protects the roof warranty by avoiding penetrations.

The board approved the district’s participation in the county-led procurement and related grant and development agreements (see "Actions" below). The resolution approving the first-amendment master subgrant agreement and the solar project development agreement (Resolution No. 25-104) passed by roll call vote.

Next steps described at the meeting include completing procurement with the selected developer and installer, procuring panels, and scheduling installation with a target of early summer next year; Katz said the county is extending its subaward schedule to allow time to meet Department of Energy milestones.

Provenance: Presentation and project details first introduced by Valerie Katz and continued through discussion and roll-call votes (transcript segments cited below).