{"id":2748,"date":"2026-05-19T15:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-uwsp-multi.pantheonsite.io\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/?page_id=2748"},"modified":"2026-05-26T17:11:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T17:11:02","slug":"solar-schools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/keep\/solar-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Solar Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\">Renewable Energy for Wisconsin&#8217;s K-12 Schools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wisconsin&#8217;s K-12 Energy Education Program fosters&nbsp;communication among schools with renewable energy systems and&nbsp;those interested in pursuing renewable energy projects in their schools. KEEP also provides&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wcee\/keep\/keep-lessons\/\">curriculum<\/a>&nbsp;and on-demand&nbsp;professional development for educators wishing to incorporate renewable energy concepts in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For students, educators, school boards and other stakeholders&nbsp;interested in planning for renewable energy installation for a school building,&nbsp;explore Renewable Energy&nbsp;Resources for Wisconsin K-12 schools:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Two Wisconsin electric utility providers offer funding and curricula for solar energy systems for K-12 schools in their service territories,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mge.com\/smart-energy\/clean-energy\/solar-energy\/solar-in-schools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Madison Gas and Electric<\/a>&nbsp;&amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsinpublicservice.com\/environment\/solarwise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wisconsin Public Service<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.midwestrenew.org\/solar-on-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Solar on Schools<\/a>&nbsp;provides a range of free resources to Wisconsin K-12 schools interested in pursuing a solar PV system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CREATE, an NSF-funded initiative based at Madison Area Technical College, provides <a href=\"https:\/\/createenergy.org\/solar-toolkit-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a step-by-step toolkit<\/a> for school districts that are exploring or pursuing solar for their buildings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Every two years Generation 180 <a href=\"https:\/\/generation180.org\/resource\/brighterfuture-a-study-on-solar-in-us-k12-schools-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">publishes a report on solar schools in the US<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\">Mapping Renewable Energy in Wisconsin Schools<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>KEEP conducted an&nbsp;initial&nbsp;survey in 2009-2011&nbsp;of every school district in Wisconsin to learn which schools have renewable energy systems installed on their buildings, the types of systems (including biomass, geothermal, solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal and wind), and when&nbsp;possible number and size. Funding the initial map of Wisconsin schools with renewable energy installations was completed with funding from Focus on Energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>KEEP maintains&nbsp;the Wisconsin Solar Schools Dashboard. The dashboard includes solar school statistics by year, by utility provider and by funding source.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/b8bbb41b6d3b43a7bae034058438061e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Access the dashboard<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The data on the map and in the dashboard are only as good as what has been shared with KEEP.&nbsp; If&nbsp;you know of additional solar&nbsp;schools that should be added to the map or a&nbsp;solar dashboards that should be included, please email&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"mailto:KEEP@uwsp.edu\"><em>KEEP@uwsp.edu<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"770px\" src=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/b8bbb41b6d3b43a7bae034058438061e\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator alignfull has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-dots\" style=\"background-color:#512698;color:#512698\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\">Inventory Results &amp; Project Locations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\"><strong>2021 Summary of Results<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In January 2021, 142&nbsp;public and private schools with installed renewable energy were mapped (above).&nbsp; Four schools generated 150 kW using wind.&nbsp; The remaining 138&nbsp;schools generated 5.35 MW of solar electricity!&nbsp; Listed below are Wisconsin schools generating at least 100 kW on site at the school:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>School<\/th><th>Installed<\/th><th>Size (kW)<\/th><th>County<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Forest Edge Elementary School<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>646<\/td><td>Dane<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Deerfield High School<\/td><td>2018<\/td><td>474<\/td><td>Dane<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Merton School District<\/td><td>2019<\/td><td>389<\/td><td>Waukesha<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Lakeland Union High School<\/td><td>2016<\/td><td>280<\/td><td>Oneida<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Eau Claire Memorial High School<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>252<\/td><td>Eau Claire<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Eau Claire North High School<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>252<\/td><td>Eau Claire<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Northland Pines High School<\/td><td>2017<\/td><td>230<\/td><td>Vilas<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Algoma School District<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>193<\/td><td>Kewaunee<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Darlington School District<\/td><td>2015<\/td><td>156<\/td><td>Lafayatte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Oregon High School<\/td><td>2017<\/td><td>136<\/td><td>Dane<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Washburn Elementary School<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>128<\/td><td>Bayfield<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Madison West High School<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>126<\/td><td>Dane<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Eagle River Middle School<\/td><td>2017<\/td><td>120<\/td><td>Vilas<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Solon Springs School<\/td><td>2020<\/td><td>109<\/td><td>Douglas<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\"><strong>2016 Summary of Results<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In March 2016, 174 schools across Wisconsin reported renewable energy systems installed on their buildings, with 14%&nbsp;reporting more than one type of system. Most of the schools (145) reported a solar energy system (whether solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal or both).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Photovoltaic (PV) &#8211; 131 schools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Solar Thermal &#8211; 24 schools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Geothermal &#8211; 31 schools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biomass &#8211; 11 schools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wind&nbsp; &#8211; 5 schools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">For inquiries about integrating renewable energy into the curriculum or guidance for renewable energy installation in a K-12 Wisconsin school,\u00a0please contact\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:KEEP@uwsp.edu\">KEEP@uwsp.edu\u00a0<\/a>or 715.346.4770.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-callout-slim bg-purple blockspacetop blockspacebottom\" id=\"\"><div class=\"site-width\"><div class=\"cs-structure\"><div class=\"cs-icon\"><\/div><div class=\"cs-text\">KEEP &#8211; Wisconsin&#8217;s K-12 Energy Education Program \u2022 1108 Fremont St. SSC 201, Stevens Point, WI 54481 \u2022 715-346-4770 \u2022 keep@uwsp.edu<\/div><div class=\"cs-linkbutton\"><a class=\"cs-button\" href=\"https:\/\/visitor.r20.constantcontact.com\/manage\/optin?v=001rj1fkR1ia0lrr4gqQQWIqwZKP00du0N3kscOo_LRAzN-hL-ZSHaq-E94C-8mwV48-uGkqf5_AvT02bmJNfqMHtBlm94n0BYpdUpB1TmBTi3SpN1rO99O20A_Zyyhb3l4GyoXRk20zpLiTQgT2tNEAQ%3D%3D\">Join Our Mailing List<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>KEEP is funded with generous support by: Alliant Energy, WPPI Energy, We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Xcel Energy, and Madison Gas and Electric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8c176d29 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alliantenergy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"324\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-alliant-energy-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-alliant-energy-logo.png 324w, https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-alliant-energy-logo-300x133.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wppienergy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"324\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-wppi-energy-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-wppi-energy-logo.png 324w, https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-wppi-energy-logo-300x133.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.we-energies.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"324\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-we-energies-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-we-energies-logo.png 324w, https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-we-energies-logo-300x133.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsinpublicservice.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"324\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-wps-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-wps-logo.png 324w, https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-wps-logo-300x133.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wi.my.xcelenergy.com\/s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"324\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utilitiy-xcel-energy-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utilitiy-xcel-energy-logo.png 324w, https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utilitiy-xcel-energy-logo-300x133.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mge.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"324\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-mge-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-mge-logo.png 324w, https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2025\/12\/keep-utility-mge-logo-300x133.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Renewable Energy for Wisconsin&#8217;s K-12 Schools Wisconsin&#8217;s K-12 Energy Education Program fosters&nbsp;communication among schools with renewable energy systems and&nbsp;those interested in pursuing renewable energy projects in their schools. KEEP also provides&nbsp;curriculum&nbsp;and on-demand&nbsp;professional development for educators wishing to incorporate renewable energy concepts in the classroom. For students, educators, school boards and other stakeholders&nbsp;interested in planning for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":1488,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2748","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2748"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3423,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2748\/revisions\/3423"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/wisconsin-center-for-environmental-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}