ESF Renaissance College students, Jane Chan (a 2020 graduate), Taylor Chung and Ankita Joshi (current Year 13 students), who are all members of the Student Sustainability team, came up with the idea to use the expansive roof area in their school campus to generate green, solar energy. Jane and her team initiated the project themselves and applied for funding, commissioned designs and worked with contractors to put solar in 8 schools across Hong Kong.
The English Schools Foundation (ESF) and CLPe Solutions Limited have just completed a large-scale solar project, promoting the use of green energy and highlighting the importance of energy conservation and sustainability to the next generation. ESF students came up with the concept and engaged CLPe Solutions in the design, construction, operations and maintenance. This project is one of the largest solar projects in the primary and secondary school sectors in Hong Kong.
Over 1,400 solar panels were installed, generating approximately 455 kW across eight campuses. The energy generated over the course of a year will be enough to meet the needs of approximately 110 four-person households in Hong Kong. It will also reduce almost 280 tonnes of carbon emissions. Under the Feed-in Tariff (‘FiT’) scheme, these systems will generate FiT income for ESF since they are connected to the power grid.
“When we started our sustainability initiative in 2019, we had no idea that it would produce the type of results that we are seeing today. Our students care deeply about their environment and the world that they live in. This scheme shows that they are switched on to creating a sustainable future for themselves, their classmates and the people of Hong Kong,” said ESF Chief Executive Officer, Belinda Greer.
Alex Keisser, Managing Director of CLPe Solutions, mentions that this is CLPe Solutions’ largest solar project for a school, spanning over eight different campuses. CLPe Solutions created the most suitable solar solution for each campus considering its location and rooftop environment. They are also offering a cloud-based ‘Renewable Energy Management Platform’ to monitor each solar panel system’s real-time performance and make the dashboard available to the schools and their students.
“CLPe Solutions also organised solar energy workshops for ESF’S teachers and students. We are pleased to support ESF in adopting renewable energy and inspiring the next generation for a greener tomorrow,” Keisser added.
ESF Schools with Solar Panel System Installed:
- ESF Bradbury School
- ESF Clearwater Bay School
- ESF King George V School
- ESF Kowloon Junior School
- ESF Renaissance College
- ESF Sha Tin College
- ESF South Island School
- ESF West Island School
