Columbia Primary School will soon have solar panels powering its cafeteria thanks to a grant through its power provider.
As part of the settlement for Mississippi Power’s Kemper County plant failure, several school districts were awarded grants for solar energy. The Columbia district has a bid advertised to install the solar panels, and companies can make sealed bids until 2 p.m. May 19.
Columbia Superintendent Jason Harris said only one place in the district can get the panels, and it was determined by an architect that the primary school was the best location for solar power because of the amount of sunlight it receives.
“It would be installed in the parking lot of the primary school, and we would take it and the power outlet would go directly into the cafeteria of the primary school that would run the freezer because of course the freezer has to run all the time. It would provide direct power there, and it would be a slight savings,” Harris said.
It would be installed in the parking lot because the roof would likely have to be strengthened to support the weight of the panels. Harris said there will also be some educational opportunities stemming from the project.
