ATHENS (AP) - An Athens County high school hopes to generate 80 percent of its electricity through a new solar plant.
Being developed for Federal Hocking High School in Stewart in southeast Ohio, the solar array will be constructed over the next 18 months.
Geoff Greenfield is the founder of Third Sun Solar that's building the array. He says the project will save the district about $2 million in energy costs over 30 years.
The project was announced by UpGrade Ohio, which promotes renewable energy in the state. Federal Hocking's array is the first built through UpGrade Ohio's initiative to make solar power more accessible to Ohio communities.
The U.S. Department of Energy has named UpGrade Ohio's Solar ACCESS program one of 35 funded projects in the agency's community solar challenge.
(photo courtesy Federal Hocking High School)