CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – On Monday afternoon the Horry County School Board Facilities Committee got an update on how the three new, energy-positive schools are performing.
Ten Oaks Middle, Socastee Elementary and St. James Intermediate are supposed to produce more energy than they consume. Myrtle Beach Middle, which just opened this semester, and Socastee Middle, which is scheduled to open next school year, will join them.
In Monday’s meeting, Committee Chairman, Neil James, said he believes the data shows the new schools are more energy efficient than others in the district but they are not yet net positive.
Staff members say this was not unexpected in the first few months and anticipate it to take about a year to get all the data. Spokesperson Lisa Bourcier said the schools haven’t been through all the seasons which affects the production of energy.
“Especially during the summer months where the days are longer, it’s warmer and the children aren’t in school. So of course, we’ll be able to balance that and get more data for the board members as the year progresses,” she explained.
Bourcier said the builder, First Floor, has three years to optimize the system so it produces at least one kilowatt-hour more energy than it consumes.