My name is Siri Pierce, and I am the youth director of the organization, SolaRISE Portland, a group that since 2018 has been advocating for solar arrays on Portland schools. 

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We started as a small group of Casco Bay High School students investigating the possibility of installing solar panels on our school's roof and grew into a collaboration of students across the district. In January of 2019, we created a video to promote the idea of solarizing Portland Schools that starred K-12 students from around the district. It premiered as part of Mayor Strimling’s State of the City Address. We continued our efforts by organizing a rally that received state-wide publicity and involved hundreds of K-12 Portland youth. Through a combination of corporate sponsorships, grants, fundraisers and donations from nearly 100 Portlanders, we raised over $25,000 to support the city’s transition to solar power and help defray costs associated with a solar project. Our advocacy helped motivate the school district and city to join a solar consortium organized by CES Inc. which through a series of remote solar projects will offset ⅔ of our city’s electrical load and generate immense savings.

 

Currently, we are working towards the development of a demonstration array at East End Community School which will be used as a tool to educate Portland students and the broader community about solar in schools and empower the next generation of environmental leaders.

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Through the work of SolaRISE, I have found that many school districts around the state are in the process of exploring the potential of implementing solar energy at their schools. I have heard from both students and teachers who are mystified by the process and don't know where to start.

 

For my Senior Expedition at Casco Bay High School, a long term research and action based project, I partnered with Maine Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, SPACE Gallery, Campaign Earth, and ReVision Energy to organize a conference for students interested in motivating their school districts to transition to solar power. The summit aimed to provide students and teachers with resources and information so they could be equipped to bring the issue to their school district and community. The Virtual SolaRISE Maine Schools Summit took place on May 12th and brought together students, solar company representatives, and government officials to discuss the viability of solar schools.

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I created this website as a starting point for individuals pursuing solar projects at their schools. Please take advantage of the resources available through the resources tab on the website and reach out if you have any questions!

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Governor Mills has set such ambitious goals for our state's clean energy future, and I strongly believe that starting with solarizing Maine schools could be incredibly powerful. Clean energy initiatives aimed towards protecting our state for future generations should start with youth. Let us all rise up to solarize Maine schools!

 

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