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Students at two Lincoln high schools will soon have the opportunity to work hands-on with solar energy for the first time.

The Lincoln Board of Education approved a $108,825 contract with Nelnet Renewable Energy at its July 25 meeting to install solar arrays at Lincoln Northwest and Standing Bear high schools, something that has been in the works for several years.

Nelnet, best known as a financial services company, purchased GRNE Solar in July 2022 as part of its effort to expand its solar energy services beginning in 2018.

The arrays will be located northeast of the building at Northwest High and southwest of Standing Bear. While there’s no set date for installation to begin, Lincoln Public Schools Director of Operations Scott Wieskamp said the panels should be operating by the end of September.

The idea to utilize solar energy at two of Lincoln’s newest schools has been discussed since officials began planning construction for the new schools. The infrastructure for a solar array was installed when the buildings were constructed. Now, all that’s left to do is set the panels up, which will take about a week to do.

Both of the schools, built to be twins, will have identical setups with 48 panels, sized 4 feet by 8 feet each. The arrays at Northwest and Standing Bear will both produce 25 kilowatts of energy, not enough to power the entire building, Wieskamp said.

“It's not gonna run all the lights in the building or anything like that,� Wieskamp said. “I think it'll definitely show, though, that it’s reducing energy power that can be consumed in our building, which reduces our purchase of electricity through the grid.�

Nelnet is one of about a dozen solar installers that are part of Lincoln Electric System’s Solar Trade Ally program, which requires participants to honor its rates and incentives. Because of this, LPS will receive a capacity payment, or rebate, of nearly $10,000 from LES. Coupled with tax credits, LPS will only pay about $50,000 out of pocket for the two arrays, Wieskamp said.

A renewable energy source was something Wieskamp always knew he wanted to include on the new buildings — and not only because of the added environmental benefits, he said.

“It also provides an opportunity for students to have exposure to this industry, because there's a number of career paths for this — manufacturing, installations, even the technical management skills,� Wieskamp said. “It just lets them get hands-on exposure to this industry.�

By installing solar panels at schools, Wieskamp hopes they can expand students’ horizons and introduce them to the many possibilities solar energy can provide. Students will be in charge of most operational responsibilities for the panels, like ensuring they are angled correctly, Wieskamp said.

Students will have access to a dashboard where they can read how much energy is being produced. From there, the angle of the panels can be adjusted to achieve maximum efficiency and capture the most amount of sun rays.

The panels are otherwise pretty much self-sustainable and aren’t expected to add additional work for the schools' operations crews, Wieskamp said.

LPS currently has no plans to write curriculum specifically for the solar panels, but Betsy Barent, science curriculum specialist at LPS, said the panels offer a great opportunity for students to learn.

“They do represent an energy system that our students can study,� Barent said in an email. “The solar panel system is an excellent model for them to study in order to understand the practical applications of energy conversion.�

Northwest and Standing Bear will be the first schools at LPS to be equipped with solar power, and Wieskamp doesn’t want to stop here. His hope is to continue adding panels to any new school buildings in the future and, someday, to all existing schools.

“I think we're investing in future career paths for kids and giving them opportunities to learn about these trades and so that they can have these experiences,� Wieskamp said. “Heck, they may pick a career path in this area.�