SSA advocates for Innovation Building solar panels

The Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA) is attempting to reduce Samo’s carbon footprint by advocating and fundraising for the installation of solar panels on the new Innovation Building.SSA hopes that the installation of these solar panels will strengthen the district’s role as environmental leaders, as well as reduce the school’s carbon footprint and energy costs, according to SSA Co-Presidents Claire Goldberg (’15) and Michael Lappen (’15).“It is our generation that will have to  deal with the increasing number of environmental problems,” Lappen said. “It is our duty as informed citizens of the world to fight to reverse the negative impact we have made and leave the Earth better off for the next generation.”Goldberg and Lappen have been advocating for solar panels for over a year. They have attended meetings to discuss this possibility with Catherine Baxter, Samo’s Dean of Facilities, and Stewart Sam, Director of Facility Improvement Projects. However, they were immediately confronted with setbacks from lack of funding and the delay in construction of the new buildings.“SSA was ready to pursue panels, and ... we were eager to make as much headway into this long process as possible before our graduation this year,” Lappen said. “Unfortunately, we found it difficult to push solar panels high up on the agenda, with so much work left to be done before the building’s completion [and] funding.”SSA has also been working with the City of Santa Monica to identify the needed funds; they are currently looking to Measure 39, which raised money for energy efficiency improvements, and Proposition ES (passed in 2012) to fund the panels.According to Lappen, Samo administration reports that the school spent approximately $40,000 on electricity per month last year and the solar panels would cut twenty percent of the cost, saving $8,000 dollars of Samo’s monthly energy bill.“The new building is already outfitted to host solar panels, all that is needed are the actual units,” Lappen said. “While the panels will eventually pay for themselves, and actually save SAMOHI money, this economic and environmental asset was heavily overshadowed by a pricey initial investment, just short of $1,000,000.”SSA members attended a Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Feb. 19 and delivered speeches encouraging the board to devote funding from Measure ES towards the installation of solar panels on the new building. According to Lappen, SSA has yet to hear the board’s final decisions and are currently waiting for the outcome.“We’ve got one Earth, just one, and that’s what excites me about these new solar panels and SSA’s role in procuring them,” Lappen said. “Not only are we, the student body, taking actions into our own hands and fighting for what we know is important, but by doing so, we set an example for other schools, cities and communities around the nation.”