LIBERTY — If the Liberty Board of Education pursues a proposal from an energy consulting company, the district could get most of its power from a system that uses solar panels, natural gas and water to provide electricity.

That power would cost the district 10 percent less in annual natural gas and electricity bills, according to Andrew Bittner, CEO of Guaranteed Clean Energy, a company working with the district to reduce energy costs. A turf-covered field installed last year in a project between the company and Liberty Local Schools saved the district money and resources on field maintenance, and also led to a project to put in energy-efficient lights and devices.

Bittner said the district is becoming one of the most energy-minded in the state at a recent school board meeting, as he presented GCE’s pitch for another project.

Energy bills are often a school’s third-most expensive line item, following staff pay and staff benefits, Bittner said.

“This is not only clean energy, but cheaper than the grid. That is something we are incredibly proud of,” Bittner said.

If the district goes with Bittner’s plan, a solar array the size of a football field would be built, along with generators contained in large metal boxes, mounted on concrete pads near the electrical room in each of the schools. The generators are designed to be “quieter than an AC,” Bittner said.

The system uses a combination of solar power, natural gas and water to heat the school and the school’s water, Bittner said. The system uses the heat lost from the generators to heat water, so it isn’t lost. The system works well for schools because schools can use the hot water that is generated, Bittner said.

“For a school system it gives the most amazing efficiency you can have. The technology has really developed over the last decade to combine with solar. It is an engineering marvel,” Bittner said.

The whole system would cost $1.6 million if the district was paying for it itself, but it wouldn’t be, Bittner said.

The only cost to the school will be a utility bill, and the bill would be for less than what the district is paying now, he said.

Bittner said he is working with utility companies who need projects like this to comply with energy regulations. The utility company would own the equipment, maintain it and be liable for it. The deal Bittner negotiated promises a 10 percent savings over their natural gas and electricity costs now, he said.

In the 2019-20 school year, the district spent $323,000 on gas and electricity, according to Treasurer Maureen Lloyd.

The district still would be connected to the power grid, but the new system stands alone off the grid, too.

“It could be a place for people to gather in the event of a power outage, because that system will still be up and running,” Bittner said.

So far, the energy consulting company has saved the district $224,000 in annual costs, Lloyd said, by reducing costs for grass maintenance, labor, utility bills and in other areas.

Bittner said a similar project was approved by Campbell City Schools, and the district is expected to break ground on it soon. Ohio State University is investing in a similar project — at a much larger scale.

This type of system works well in a place like northeast Ohio because natural gas is inexpensive in the region and solar-only systems need a baseline power source.

“The CHP (combined heat and power) system is all about finding harmony and balance,” Bittner said.

This type of system works well in a place like northeast Ohio because natural gas is inexpensive in the region and solar-only systems need a baseline power source.

“The CHP (combined heat and power) system is all about finding harmony and balance,” Bittner said.

The system use the water to capture heat that would normally be wasted, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Nearly two-thirds of the energy used by conventional electricity generation is wasted in the form of heat discharged to the atmosphere. Additional energy is wasted during the distribution of electricity to end users. By capturing and using heat that would otherwise be wasted, and by avoiding distribution losses, CHP can achieve efficiencies of over 80 percent, compared to 50 percent for typical technologies (i.e., conventional electricity generation and an on-site boiler),” according to the EPA.