About the Project

This project is a student-designed, built and maintained off-the-grid solar array at Temecula Valley High School. This solar array will meet all the energy requirements of our student-designed, built and maintained Aquaponics Greenhouse (completed in 2018 with the assistance of a previous IFT grant). This grant was written by the thirty-two students currently enrolled in a Biosustainability elective science class. To prepare for this project, they researched solar energy production and reached out to local solar energy experts for advice to determine the current needs of our greenhouse, while also planning for future greenhouse expansion/growth. Using computer modeling, students designed a solar array that will meet both current and future energy needs of our greenhouse. This grant project also connects our students with the students from the district’s continuation high school. The Biosustainability students will install the solar array in a collaborative effort with students from Rancho Vista High School, where a Solar Installation program was started with seed funds from an IFT grant awarded in 2012.