MOSIER — The U.S. Department of Energy announced late last week that Mosier Community School was one of 24 schools nationally and the only school in Oregon that will receive grant funding under the Renew America Schools Grant, which is run by the Office of State and Community Energy Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and was authorized under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The grant will provide $868,248 in funding for a major solar and energy efficiency retrofit of Mosier Community School’s building, which is over 100-years-old. The grant will fund
Installation of a high-efficiency heat pump, heating and cooling system, cover the school’s roof with more than 274 solar panels (112 kW), add new high-efficiency windows and building insulation and install electric car chargers for teachers and the public.
“This is an amazing opportunity for us to take a school that is operating with a 100-year-old heating oil boiler, no formal ventilation system and not a bit of insulation and modernize it with a robust weatherization plan and high-efficiency heat pumps that will be powered primarily by solar energy,” said Brent Foster, a parent volunteer and Project Lead for the school’s Facilities Committee. “The school is really the center of the community and having the funding to do a comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit while installing one of the largest solar systems in the Columbia River Gorge is a game changer for us and will significantly reduce the school’s carbon footprint.”
This sentiment was shared by Mosier Community School Board Member Marie Mourou.
“This project is not only critical for the future health and well-being of students, teachers and staff, but will also benefit the entire community since the school and its grounds are our only public meeting space of any size, and functions as our emergency command and evacuation center,” Mourou said. “This project will drastically increase the resiliency of our community in the face of future climate change disruptions.”
One innovative part of the project is that Mosier Community School is partnering with the community group Comunidades, which works on environmental justice issues to implement a pre-apprenticeship program for at-risk high school students.
“Many students from communities of color have no idea they could pursue good paying careers in renewable energy and efficiency,” Columbia Riverkeeper Community Organizer Ubaldo Hernandez said. “This is a great opportunity to give local high school students first-hand exposure to a diversity of construction-related trades that are going to be central to transitioning towards a renewable energy future.”
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