Solar Panel Installation Begins Early With Richfield Middle School

will be the first of three Richfield Public Schools buildings to see solar panel arrays installed on its roof. The installation begins Friday and is expected to last through next week, according to District Business Manager Michael Schwartz.

The panels were originally scheduled to be installed the first week of August, however, the project was sped up to meet the needs of the company doing the installation work, Schwartz told Patch.

and are the other buildings slated for panels. According to a Sun Current article, the district will save roughly $466,000 in energy costs over the next 40 years. The district will pay just $34,000 out of pocket, as it is receiving some financial help from Xcel Energy rebates and federal tax credits.

Schwartz said Xcel has not approved the work on the other two buildings yet, however, he doesn't see an issue. Xcel needs to approve the projects in order for the district to get the rebates. Once the approvals come through, installation should take about a week for each building.