Presenter outlines solar lease for Newport-area school, cites scholarship and energy savings

An unidentified presenter told the Beach Park CCSD 3 board that a proposed solar-hosting project for a Newport-area school could occupy roughly 6.5 acres and generate multi-decade lease revenue while offering curriculum ties and community gifts.

The presenter (identified in the transcript as "Speaker 2") told the board the company’s stated lease rate is "$22,500 an acre," which the presenter said "works out to 50,000 a year," along with a 1.5% annual escalator and a lease running 40 years. The presenter summarized those terms as "over $800,000 just for hosting that project." The presenter said the district would also receive an annual $5,000 scholarship typically used for STEM purchases (for example, 3-D printers), a one-time $5,000 community donation at the start of construction, and an educational kiosk to integrate project data into classroom work.

The presenter described a construction timeline of roughly "about a year or 2" before work begins and emphasized that payments to the district would begin relatively quickly. He also said the project could reduce the district’s energy bills by "10 to 20%" and said a design for Beach Park Middle School would follow: the transcript uses the word "cardboard unit," but the presenter described covered units that would occupy parking spaces rather than ground area; that wording has been rendered as "carport units" in this account to reflect the typical form of such covered parking solar installations and the context of the discussion. The presenter said the Beach Park Middle School design would be finalized the following week and that a formal proposal and designs would be emailed to district staff.

All quoted figures in this article are taken from the transcript as spoken. The transcript’s arithmetic contains an inconsistency (the relationship between "$22,500 an acre" and "50,000 a year" is not fully explained in the recorded remarks); the district is expected to review full written financing terms when it receives the emailed proposal. The board’s staff (the superintendent or business manager) was identified in the meeting as the contact who would follow up with the presenter.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: Speaker 1 said the superintendent or business manager would speak with the presenter later; the presenter said he would send plans and financing terms by email and finalize the Beach Park Middle School design next week.