Facilities committee forwards rooftop solar power‑purchase agreement for Norwalk High/P‑TECH to full board

The Norwalk Board of Education Facilities Committee voted unanimously Jan. 28 to forward a power purchase agreement (PPA) to the full board that would install rooftop solar on Norwalk High School/P‑TECH and have the developer sell the generated electricity to the district under a long-term lease arrangement.

Bill Hodel, the district’s director of facilities, told the committee the PPA “is a contract, which has not been signed, and it needs to be reviewed from this group and then moved on to the full board next month for the superintendent to sign.” He described the arrangement as a leasing relationship in which a private developer installs the system, captures federal energy tax credits and utility incentives, and the district pays for electricity produced by the system.

Alan Lowe, the city’s construction lead, said the rooftop installation under consideration would be the district’s fifth rooftop system and reiterated why staff are recommending rooftop PV rather than a carport or cantilevered (ground‑mounted) system: “For the copper solar … it’s very different because of structure and also cantilever out … it’s substantially higher in capital cost,” and his financial analysis showed the rooftop option projects roughly $2,000,000 in operating savings for the district over 20 years while the carport option was projected to be approximately break‑even or slightly negative over the same period.

Committee members asked about ownership, lifespan and costs. Staff cited common industry terms: typical PPA lengths tied to federal tax‑credit structures are 20 years, panels may have useful lives of about 30 years, and district roof warranties commonly run about 25 years—factors that affect long‑term sequencing, maintenance and eventual buyout options. Alan Lowe also said an illustrative PPA price being discussed “is about 13¢ per kilowatt hour.”

Chair Diana Carpio called for a motion to forward the agreement to the full board. After a second, the committee voted unanimously to move the PPA forward for full‑board consideration and superintendent signature.

Next steps: committee staff will provide the full PPA document to board members and the item will appear on the full board agenda for final approval and superintendent signature.