COCOA, Apr. 27, 2010 – Ninety public schools in Florida have been competitively selected to participate in the SunSmart Schools E-Shelter (Emergency Shelter) program, administered by the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). Each school will receive a solar electric system with battery backup – complete with installation, educational resources and materials, training for school personnel, and professional development for teachers.
The 10-kilowatt solar electric system will provide power to the shelter during outages for critical energy needs such as lighting, communications and essential medical equipment. During normal operations, it will offset electricity costs to the school and reduce greenhouse gases. Funding for the $10 million state program came from federal economic stimulus funds.
The 90 finalist schools (listed below) were selected from the 213 applications submitted, representing 45 of the 67 counties in Florida.
“Ideally, we wanted to have each county in Florida represented, but we’re pleased to have shelters spread throughout the state, with at least one shelter in each of the counties that applied,” said Susan Schleith, project manager of the SunSmart E-Shelter program.
Schools were ranked based on demographics, emergency shelter needs, partnerships, and renewable energy education and outreach plans. Twenty alternate schools were also selected. Final acceptance into the program is dependent on a successful visit to the school by the FSEC engineering and emergency management teams to determine site suitability. In the event any of the finalists are deemed not suitable for installation, or if additional funding is obtained, alternate schools will move to finalist status.
The next stage of the process is to determine who will install the solar systems. The University of Central Florida will select the contractors through a formal bid process, expected to begin in the next few weeks. Contractor selection is expected to be completed by mid-June.
For more information about the program, visit www.fsec.ucf.edu/go/sunsmart.
Site Name (In Order by County) | City | County |
University of Florida | Gainesville | Alachua |
A. Crawford Mosley High School | Lynn Haven | Bay |
Jinks Middle School | Panama City | Bay |
Starke Elementary School | Starke | Bradford |
Endeavour Elementary Magnet School | Cocoa | Brevard |
Bayside High School | Palm Bay | Brevard |
Apollo Elementary | Titusville | Brevard |
Everglades High School | Miramar | Broward |
Kingsway Elementary School | Port Charlotte | Charlotte |
Pinecrest Elementary School | Immokalee | Collier |
Eden Park Elementary School | Immokalee | Collier |
DeSoto Middle School | Arcadia | DeSoto |
Abess Park Elementary School | Jacksonville | Duval |
Arlington Middle School | Jacksonville | Duval |
LaVilla School of the Arts | Jacksonville | Duval |
Bellview Elementary | Pensacola | Escambia |
Lipscomb Elementary | Pensacola | Escambia |
East Gadsden High School | Havana | Gadsden |
Havana Middle School | Havana | Gadsden |
Trenton Elementary School | Trenton | Gilcrest |
Hernando High School | Brooksville | Hernando |
Explorer K-8 | Spring Hill | Hernando |
Avon Elementary School | Avon Park | Highlands |
Fred Wild Elementary School | Sebring | Highlands |
Young Middle Magnet School | Tampa | Hillsborough |
Durant High School | Plant City | Hillsborough |
Knights Elementary | Plant City | Hillsborough |
Oslo Middle School | Vero Beach | Indian River |
Sebastian River High School | Sebastian | Indian River |
Jefferson County Middle High School | Monticello | Jefferson |
Lafayette High School | Mayo | Lafayette |
Carver Middle School | Leesburg | Lake |
Fruitland Park Elementary School | Fruitland Park | Lake |
Island Coast High School | Cape Coral | Lee |
Veteran’s Park Academy for the Arts | Lehigh Acres | Lee |
Oak Hammock Middle | Fort Myers | Lee |
Deerlake Middle School | Tallahassee | Leon |
W. R. Tolar K-8 | Bristol | Liberty |
Madison County Central School | Madison | Madison |
Bayshore Elementary School | Bradenton | Manatee |
Braden River High School | Bradenton | Manatee |
Robert H. Prine Elementary School | Bradenton | Manatee |
Vanguard High School | Ocala | Marion |
Dunnellon High School | Dunnellon | Marion |
West Port High School | Ocala | Marion |
Port Salerno elementary | Stuart | Martin |
Warfield Elementary | Indiantown | Martin |
South Dade Senior High School | Homestead | Miami-Dade |
North Miami Senior High School | Miami | Miami-Dade |
South Miami Senior | Miami | Miami-Dade |
Key West High School | Key West | Monroe |
Yulee High School | Yulee | Nassau |
Yulee Middle School | Yulee | Nassau |
Baker School | Baker | Okaloosa |
Antioch Elementary School | Crestview | Okaloosa |
Memorial Middle School | Orlando | Orange |
Westridge Middle School | Orlando | Orange |
East River High School | Orlando | Orange |
Ventura Elementary School | Kissimmee | Osceola |
Discovery Intermediate School | Kissimmee | Osceola |
Poinciana Elementary School | Poinciana | Osceola |
Atlantic Community High School | Delray Beach | Palm Beach |
West Gate Elementary School | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach |
Palm Beach Gardens High | Palm Beach Gardens | Palm Beach |
James W. Mitchell High | Trinity | Pasco |
River Ridge Middle High School | New Port Richey | Pasco |
Wesley Chapel High School | Wesley Chapel | Pasco |
John M. Sexton Elementary School | Saint Petersburg | Pinellas |
Fairmount Park Elementary | St. Petersburg | Pinellas |
Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Elementary | St. Petersburg | Pinellas |
Palmetto Elementary School | Poinciana | Polk |
Dr. NE Roberts Elementary | Lakeland | Polk |
Haines City Senior | Haines City | Polk |
Avalon Middle School | Milton | Santa Rosa |
Russell Elementary | Milton | Santa Rosa |
PineView School | Osprey | Sarasota |
Atwater Elementary School | North Port | Sarasota |
Lyman High School | Longwood | Seminole |
Geneva Elementary | Geneva | Seminole |
C.A. Moore Elementary School | Ft. Pierce | St. Lucie |
Bayshore Elementary School | Port St. Lucie | St. Lucie |
Taylor County Elementary School | Perry | Taylor |
Champion Elementary | Daytona Beach | Volusia |
DeLand High School | Deland | Volusia |
Pine Ridge High School | Deltona | Volusia |
Riversink Elementary | Crawfordville | Wakulla |
Crawfordville Elementary School | Crawfordville | Wakulla |
Freeport High School | Freeport | Walton |
Vernon High School | Vernon | Washington |
Chipley High School | Chipley | Washington |
About FSEC
The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research institute in the nation. Current divisions and their research activities include Advanced Energy Research: alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and fuel cells; Buildings Research: energy-efficient buildings; and Solar Energy: solar water and pool heating and solar electric and distributed generation systems. For more information about the center, visit http://www.floridaenergycenter.org or call the FSEC Public Affairs Office at 321-638-1015.
UCF Stands For Opportunity
The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 3rd largest in the nation with more than 53,500 students. UCF’s first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region’s economic development. UCF’s culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu.
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PR10-05