Major Project 2014-2015

THE Rotary Club of North St Andrew has received commendation from Education Minister Ronald Thwaites for implementing a $1.5-million energy efficiency project at Meadowbrook High School in St Andrew.

The initiative, projected to realise annual electricity savings averaging $1 million, entailed replacement of the institution's existing inefficient fluorescent bulbs with energy-saving frosted LED options.

This is expected to result in an overall 56 per cent reduction in the schools light load, translating into a 15 per decline in electricity consumption.

The project was jointly undertaken with the Rotary Club of London, England, and formed part of Rotary International's educational and community development focus.

 

The project was symbolically handed over to the school's principal, Michael Peart, by officers of the Rotary Club, led by President Sandra Samuels-Reid during a ceremony at the institution's Meadowbrook Avenue compound. A commemorative plaque was also unveiled.

 

Thwaites, who delivered the keynote address, said the project's focus on energy efficiency is of "great importance" for Meadowbrook High, citing it as "an example to all the other schools in Jamaica".

The minister encouraged the school's administration to explore the possibility of installing solar energy panels, "because that's the next stage of saving and becoming environmentally conscious".

Thwaites also encouraged the school's administration to use the projected savings generated to "invest in the school, and in the lives of these children and the others who will follow".

Past president of the club, Glaister Ricketts, under whose 2013/14 administration the project was conceptualised, said its implementation "provides the base on which to improve energy management" at the institution.

To achieve this, he proposed that motion detector switches be installed; a culture of energy conservation be fostered; and renewable energy alternatives be sourced. He lauded the collaboration which facilitated the project's implementation.

For his part, Peart expressed gratitude for the Rotary Club's gesture and indicated that work has commenced to introduce renewables into the school's energy mix.

He also noted that the formation of an Energy Miser Club, comprising students with staff advisors, is being considered.

"The members will see to it that during the days the exterior lights are turned off; when classrooms are empty, the fans are turned off; and when we do not need the air conditioning, the units are turned off," Peart said.

Meanwhile, Ricketts said that the Rotary Club of North St Andrew previously established a state-of-the-art computer lab at Meadowbrook High School, and also undertook renovation of the biology, chemistry, and physics laboratories at Calabar High School, and Oberlin High School, both in St Andrew.

"We are always looking to see how we can develop communities, through projects like these, that will have a positive impact on the beneficiaries," he said.

Only recently, the school embarked on an initiative to include solar in its energy mix with the installation of 84 solar panels and five-grid tie inverters on the school's auditorium by ATL Engergy. The value of that project was $4.2 million.