Treme Neighborhood School Goes Solar With Entergy, Nike, Winrock International, U.S. Green Building Council Partnership, City of New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An advanced solar panel array was unveiled Friday at Joseph A. Craig Elementary School, the second project of a partnership between Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), Nike Corporation, Winrock International, the Louisiana Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and the city of New Orleans.

The New Orleans public school is now equipped with a 25.6-kilowatt solar array that will produce approximately 36 megawatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power three typical residential homes.

The partners committed almost $1.7 million to the New Orleans Solar School Initiative with $1.5 million coming from Entergy. The installation at Craig Elementary, which is run by the Recovery School District, cost approximately $250,000 including equipment, materials and installation.

"Sustainability is a core principle of our company, and we're proud to be the lead sponsor of the New Orleans Solar Schools Initiative and its latest project to install solar panels at Craig Elementary," said Rod West, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans, Inc. "The more we educate our children about the benefits of clean energy, and how to use it efficiently, the better off our city, state and nation will be in the long run."

The project includes an instructional component that will help educate both students and teachers about conservation and renewable energy. Students will use the solar equipment as a first-hand learning tool to research and report on how energy conservation can integrate with solar power.

The New Orleans Solar School Initiative originated with Entergy's purchase of carbon offsets – registered on Winrock International's American Carbon Registry – from Nike in 2006. The transaction was part of Entergy's long-range plan to stabilize CO2 emissions 20 percent below year 2000 levels through 2010. Nike donated $150,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the carbon offsets, and Entergy committed up to $1.5 million – part of which is tied to an agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – to install solar systems at public schools in New Orleans.

"With this project, Nike and Entergy showed how markets can be used to reduce emissions and provide local benefits including helping teachers prepare students for a new energy future," said John Kadyszewski, director of the American Carbon Registry at Winrock International.

Craig, which sits on Saint Philip Street in the historic Treme neighborhood, reopened in January 2010 after undergoing a two-year, $15.5 million renovation.

"We're delighted about this additional resource for Craig," said RSD Superintendent Paul Vallas. "It will not only provide a sustainable source of energy for the school, but also offer continuous teaching and learning opportunities for our teachers and students."

The project is being coordinated by Winrock, a nonprofit organization based in Little Rock, Ark. The project contractor was Advanced Roofing, Inc. Other project partners include the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and Think Energy.

SOURCE Entergy Corporation