DSD Renewables (DSD) has partnered with Mission Energy to develop a 701 kW rooftop solar array for Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois. The project is estimated to generate 836,597 kWh each year, avoiding 593 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, and providing the school with clean, affordable energy to power its operations.
The installation, which is expected to be operational in early 2024, will meet approximately 65% of the school's energy needs with renewable energy. The project aligns with Marian Catholic's deep values in environmental stewardship and its belief that Catholic schools must be innovative, outside-of-the-box thinkers that bring notoriety to their schools and communities.
"We're excited to see this project benefit the school and its community, and are appreciative to have the backing of DSD to make this project come to life."
"With this project, we will be the first private high school in the Chicagoland area with a solar array of this magnitude," says Vince Krydynski, President of Marian Catholic High School. "We're excited to be working with Mission Energy and DSD Renewables to deliver a project that carries out our vision to be a more responsible citizen of the world, while bringing significant benefits to our operations, students, and their families."
After an intensive search for the right developer, Marian Catholic ultimately selected Mission Energy, a developer that most aligned with the school's core values and with the ability to provide a cost effective project that would allow better control in its tuition rates.
"Aligning with our commitment to empower nonprofits to implement clean energy solutions, and as a hallmark of our Catholic Energies program, we're incredibly proud to be part of this collaboration to bring solar to Marian Catholic High School," says Dan Last, CEO at Mission Energy. "We're excited to see this project benefit the school and its community, and are appreciative to have the backing of DSD to make this project come to life."
Mission Energy is a member of DSD's Developer Network, a channel partner program that provides regional developers with the tools and competitive financing they need to deploy more projects and grow their business. DSD supported Mission Energy through the development phase of the project and will own and operate the system after Mission Energy completes the installation.
"We are honored to be a part of making this project a reality for Marian Catholic High School and being able to leverage our Developer Network partnership with Mission Energy," says Danielle Fidel, Senior Director of the Developer Network at DSD. "At Marian Catholic, fostering a healthy learning environment for students goes beyond academics, and installing onsite solar to offset electrical usage is one more way of achieving this. Congrats to Marian Catholic for making this commitment to a more sustainable future for generations of students to come!"