Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) and SunPower together celebrated the completion of a 705kW solar power system at Redwood High School in Larkspur, Calif. The solar array not only generates clean electricity for the school, but also is integrated into electric vehicle charging stations.

At the site, high efficiency solar panels are installed atop a parking canopy structure, enabling the system to provide emission-free solar power for the school district as well as needed shade in the parking areas. The solar carports include electric vehicle charging stations to serve four vehicles. As a result of the system, the district calculates it may reduce electricity costs at the high school by approximately 80%, which could result in an estimated $252,000 annual savings.

"The completed parking canopies are maximizing the amount of solar power we are generating on site,” said TUHSD Governing Board Trustee Bob Walter. “It has been great for our students to watch the construction of this system that will produce electricity directly from sunlight."

The system is anticipated to offset the production of 822 metric tons of greenhouse gases each year, which is equivalent to eliminating 4,325 cars from the roads over the next 25 years, according to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.