Rosendin Electric to Install $6.6 Million Solar Canopies at Castro Valley Schools

A company that helped develop the Santa Clara Valley after World War II will install solar power canopies at three schools in Castro Valley, if the school board ratifies a $6.617 million agreement on Thursday.

The canopies would be installed in existing parking lots with attached photovoltaic systems to provide electrical power at , and .

To see the school board's entire agenda for Thursday, Sept. 22, click here.

Rosendin Electric Inc., now a national contractor, has installed solar power across the state, including at the San Jose International Airport.

The school intends to pay for the project with COPS, or Certificates of Participation, a financing alternative to a school bond measure. COPS are tax-exempt government securities used to raise funds for capital investments. An advantage is that payments can be spread over time.

The Castro Valley Unified School District expects to save $100,000 a year in PG&E costs once the project is operational, according to a staff report in the Aug. 25 school board agenda.

The work would begin in December and end in June, assistant superintendent Mike Bush said at the Aug. 25 meeting.

Also on this Thursday's school board agenda:

1. Donation from , a community group raising funds to offset for Castro Valley schools alone over the past three years.
2. Report on STAR testing. To see results, previously reported in Castro Valley Patch, click here.
3. Declaration of October as Disabilities Awareness Month, Character Education Month and National Principals Month, on pages 47-54 of the agenda packet.
4. Report on developer fees, $80,000 received and spent in 2010-11, as detailed on pages 57 and 58 of the agenda packet. The district collects up to $2.97 per square foot from developers of residential, commercial and industrial construction in Castro Valley.