Santa Barbara High Joins Growing List of Solar Sites Now Online in School District

The power is on at a few more solar sites in the Santa Barbara Unified School District, following skepticism that its panels were purely “ornamental” due to the lengthy process of getting them on the grid. 

The district faced road bumps in the shape of battery supply chain issues, electrical upgrades, and delays from Southern California Edison. However, 12 of their 14 sites are now online, with the two others not far behind. 

Solar panels at La Cuesta High School, the District Office, District Facilities (such as maintenance offices and freezers for food storage), and Santa Barbara High School are now all online. According to district spokesperson Ed Zuchelli, the panels are providing 87 percent of the district office’s electricity, and 94 percent for facilities. 

That leaves only the two other high schools — Dos Pueblos and San Marcos — waiting on permission to operate from Edison. 

“Edison doesn’t want you to just hook them up to the grid,” explained district chief operating officer Steve Venz. “They inspect it and make sure it works properly before they do it.”

Venz estimates that the two high schools should be online by the end of the year. Once all panels are online, they are expected to provide the district with 70 percent of its electricity use.

Correction: An earlier version of this story contained a misspelling of La Cuesta High School.