{"id":36,"date":"2013-03-12T09:19:40","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T13:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/videos-solar-dublin-high-school-groundbreaking-dhs-solar-2013-03-11.html"},"modified":"2013-03-12T09:19:40","modified_gmt":"2013-03-12T13:19:40","slug":"videos-solar-dublin-high-school-groundbreaking-dhs-solar-2013-03-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/videos-solar-dublin-high-school-groundbreaking-dhs-solar-2013-03-11.html","title":{"rendered":"Videos: Solar Dublin High School groundbreaking @ DHS Solar 2013-03-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\n\"Breaking<\/a>\nGroundbreaking for solar power to save Dublin High 40%,\nthus reducing teacher furloughs,\n\nfinanced by municipal bonds<\/a>,\nmade possible by cooperation among a wide range of\ngovernment officials, private companies, and individuals:\nthat was the groundbreaking story in Dublin, Laurens County, yesterday,\nvideod by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nDublin City Schools are willing to try something new, and that’s why\nthey were groundbreaking,\n\nsaid Chuck Ledbetter, Superintendent<\/a>, yesterday.\nHe\n\nrecognized members present<\/a> of the Dublin City Council, the\nLaurens County Commission, the Dublin-Laurens Development Authority,\nand state representative Matt Hatchett, and\nPublic Service Commissioner Bubba McDonald.\n\nLedbetter’s theme<\/a>,\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"News<\/a>\nEverybody worked together to make this happen.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nwas echoed over and over by many other speakers.\nWhat they worked for was economic help for Dublin City Schools\nthrough solar power, financed by municipal bonds.\n<\/p>\n

\n\nThe Mayor of Dublin, Phil Best<\/a> added to the list\n\n\nMAGE SOLAR.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"MAGE<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\nGA PSC Bubba McDonald added<\/a>,\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nThis is the first day of tomorrow.\nYou don’t know who this group is, what you represent is\na lot of things that are going to take place in this state.\nEvidence shows that when you have a city council,\na development authority, a county government,\nand a school system that come together make things happen,\nthis is what happens.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\n\"Audience\"<\/a>\n\n\"More<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nMcDonald also praised the GA PSC staff,\n\nand continued<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nWhat’s happening here today, truly we’ve broken the ice!\nBringing solar to Georgia hasn’t been an easy thing to do.\nI had the privilege before Christmas to be in Germany for a week,\nlooking at the process of energy in Germany.\n…people with the energy business in Germany,\nand they look at Georgia and they say\n“if we only had half of the opportunity that you have with\nthat beautiful sun shining on your state.”\nThey’re going to be on renewables by 2020.\nAnd we’re just starting.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"Lauren<\/a>\nBut you don’t just realize how important this project is to the state of\nGeorgia.\nYou’re going to have school systems;\nyou’re going to have county governments,\nyou’re going to have the state of Georgia;\nyou’re even going to have\nGeorgia Power Company that’s going to be looking and saying\nheay! you know we might need to take a quicker look\na better look at what we have today….\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd again: this is the first day of tomorrow.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nGeorgia Power and its parent the Southern Company were prominent\nby their absence from these festivities on this day.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n\nJoe Thomas, CEO MAGE SOLAR USA<\/a>,\nheadquartered in Dublin, praised all the participants, and summarized\nthe discussions that led to this day, saying\nSuperintendent Chuck Ledbetter had said to him:\n<\/p>\n

\nI know things are tight and we’re really struggling in education,\nand he said we need to find ways to reduce our costs.\nAnd I said solar should do that for you if everything is put in place.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nHe mentioned other power sources and added,\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"Gretchen<\/a>\nSolar now has reached a point; the technology has been there for some time;\ncosts have reached a point now where it really makes economic sense for us.\nAnd we have to be looking at that as Commissioner McDonald said,\non a really broad field and on a small scale with the residential,\nschool systems, businesses, and whatever.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\n\"Joe<\/a>\nThomas praised Robert Green of Greenavations for financial analysis\nand Evergreen that’s going to do the installation, and\n“our whole team and how they’ve worked together”.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n\nThe Superintendent praised Robert Green of Greenavations<\/a> for working\nwith him and MAGE SOLAR to come up with\n“the right size with the right financing model to make it a great\nmoney saver for Dublin Schools.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n\nRobert E. Green of Greenavations praised<\/a> “the greenest high school in Georgia.”\n<\/p>\n

\nThis was not only a groundbreaking event for this school.\nIt’s also, because this project represents the first use of municipal bonds\nto finance a solar array in the state of Georgia,\nwith this development, and the forethought of the people gathered here today,\nwe can unequivocably state that Wall Street and Main Street have agreed\nthat there is enough sunshine in Georgia for solar to succeed\nas a way to drive down educational costs.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\nGreen described<\/a>\nhis other company,\n\nGeorgia Solar Utilities<\/a>, saying GaSU would be offering\na curriculum on solar from financing to installation.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n\nState Representative Matt Hatchett<\/a> said:\n<\/p>\n

\nThis is a first: the cooperation!\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\nSuperintendent Ledbetter wrapped up the speeches<\/a> by repeating\nthe theme of the day:\n<\/p>\n

\nThis day would not be here if it weren’t not for all these people working together.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nHe added to the list Cal Wray of the Dublin-Laurens Development Authority.\n<\/p>\n

\nTogether we can do things we never thought were possible.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\nBubba McDonald stood up again<\/a> to praise\n<\/p>\n

\nOne of the brains behind the solar initiative in Georgia is\nShane Owl-Greason…\nHe lives, eats, and sleeps solar energy.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\n\"Shane<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n\nChuck Ledbetter added<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nWhen you have a solar array working today,\nyou might say it’s a cloudy day, you’re not going to make any power.\nNot so!\nThat means that on a day like today it will probably be close to 50% production.\nthe temperature being what it is and the amount of power we’re using\nin Dublin High School\nwe can probably power Dublin High School today.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nIt’s an interesting point and for an old country southern boy who\nthought that solar must mean only when the sun is popping out at 95\nit’s an interesting point to learn and to grow.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nA long line of cooperating people\n\nwent outside and broke ground with golden shovels<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"Cal<\/a>\n\nGretchen interviewed Cal Wray, President of the Dublin-Laurens Development Authority<\/a>\non how bringing MAGE SOLAR to Dublin in 2010 started the ball rolling\nto where now industry, government, schools, residential, all are involved\nin solar and ramping up.\nHe’s the one who went to Germany and found MAGE SOLAR.\nMaybe looking farther afield than Alabama or Tennessee is profitable.\n<\/p>\n

\nFinally, here’s\n\nthe site plan<\/a>\nfor solar Dublin High.\n<\/p>\n

\nHere’s\n\na video playlist:<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

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