Construction plans for the new Talawanda High School is looking green.
New Ohio legislation, set to be proposed early April, calls for solar panels on approximately 25 percent of Ohio's schools in an effort to make Ohio more eco-friendly, and Talawanda School District officials are adhering to environment-friendly construction techniques.
The legislation is meant to compliment previous Ohio environmental bills, which also support green energy and environmentally friendly resources.
One of the organizations fighting to help pass this new eco-conscious bill is Environment Ohio, a statewide, non-profit environmental advocacy organization that uses independent research to solve Ohio's environmental problems.
Amy Gomberg, program director for Environment Ohio, said Ohio currently gets 90 percent of its energy from coal fire power which is not only unhealthy for Ohioans, but is an unsustainable resource. Gomberg also said Ohio's energy use has put the state at No. 4 on the country's list of states contributing to global warming.
Gomberg said using solar panels will improve the state's standing on the list and will educate younger generations as the panels are being used in schools.
"We believe that if schools have solar panels it will introduce renewable energy to young Ohioans," Gomberg said. "It will be a great way to get closer to renewable electricity."
In Ohio, there are more than 440 businesses and research institutions in the solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and fuel cell industries and about 115 of those industries are solar industries, according to a recent Environment Ohio study, "Growing Ohio's Green Energy Economy." If the solar panel legislation is passed, the study said these Ohio businesses will have more opportunities to invest in a green energy economy.
Because the legislation calling for solar panels in Ohio schools is so new, Talawanda School District officials have yet to consider solar panels as a possibility for the new high school. However, according to Holli Morrish, Talawanda's coordinator of community development, the school district has included "green aspects" in its construction plans.
Morrish said the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) will fund 24 percent of the green details of the new school. Leadership in Energy and Environment Design's silver rating, which tells states how "green" their school buildings are, will also be used in designing the plans for the new high school, Morrish said.
Plans for the school's construction include a two-story academic wing that makes use of natural daytime lighting by way of strategically placed windows.
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"Day lighting involves the positioning of the building," Morrish said. "We think this is great because research shows a 25 to 30 percent increase in performance in students that are (working) in facilities with daylight."
Morrish said more decisions are being made every day as to what types of materials will be used in the new school.
"Last Saturday, we hosted a discussion process on options for what's available to us from windows all the way down to concrete," she said. "Thursday there will be another meeting to narrow down things to pursue."
Morrish said Talawanda is looking at two different heating and cooling systems for the school. The first is a normal HVAC system and the second is a green technology geothermal system that uses chilled beams.
Construction for the new high school is set to begin August and officials hope it will open to students in fall 2011.
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