Thomas Middle School goes green

Excitement is running high at Thomas Middle School in Arlington Heights as preparations are in the final stages for the installation of a solar panel to help power the building.

School officials say the panel will be installed next week on the building's west side along Arlington Heights Road, visible to all who drive by. When it is, the middle school will be the first building in Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 to go green.

Principal Thomas O'Rourke credits Jay Bingaman, an eighth-grade science teacher and science department chairman, with landing the panel.

"I really like it when teachers write away for grants," O'Rourke said. "It involves some risk taking, but the rewards can be great."

Last year, Bingaman applied for -- and won -- a $10,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, started by Commonwealth Edison.

Specifically, he won a grant from the foundation's renewable energy funding program. The panel will help reduce the school's energy costs, and eventually pay for itself, school officials say.

"We're really excited," O'Rourke said. "Not only are we going to be part of the whole 'green movement,' but it's kid friendly. The kids can use the data to study energy consumption."

School officials say the panel will deliver power directly into the building's electrical unit, and power its science labs.

"It has a Web-based monitor," said Selene Stewart, associate principal, "which will show how much power is being generated by the solar panel."

Stewart added that the panel can be adjusted to a different angle, allowing students to study this data, and in particular, use this as a variable in their science fair experiments.

Commonwealth Edison established the Clean Energy Community Foundation in 1999, with a $225 million endowment, in order to work with communities in working toward clean energy and land preservation.

The foundation funds three core areas: improving energy efficiency, developing renewable energy resources, and preserving natural areas and wildlife habitat.

Of the renewable energy grants made, more than half support the installation of wind power systems, followed closely by the installation of solar energy systems.