High schooler Tyler Ehrman wasn’t sure how the Wapello school board would respond to 4-H youth’s projected energy efficiency and solar savings. “Are they actually going to believe this project, created by a bunch of elementary students, that’s this big in magnitude?” he thought.

The project started with 20 students competing in 4-H’s FIRST LEGO League, which includes developing a community improvement project. 

Ehrman mentored the younger students as part of the high school robotics club. Terry Dvorak of Red Lion Renewables and Mike Mohrfeld of Mohrfeld Electric helped the teams in projecting solar savings and conducting the energy audit. 

If the school board followed the students’ plan, the district could save $1.46 million. “They were a little flabbergasted and blindsided,” recalled youth program specialist Abby Boysen. “I don’t think they really believed us.”

The numbers are real, Dvorak told the school board. That night in 2022, the school board approved an energy audit on the junior/senior high school.

In 2023, the Wapello school district installed solar arrays on three buildings and a covered bus drop-off. The school district’s solar arrays are financed by private investors like Dvorak and a loan from a local bank.

They are made possible by federal solar tax credits funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by the 117th Congress and signed by President Biden, aims to reduce inflation by investing in domestic energy production, promoting clean energy, lowering prescription drug costs, and more.

In Wapello, Red Lion Renewables will own and operate the array for the first several years, selling the power to the school district under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under the PPA, the school district will save an estimated $16,000 per year. After about five years, the school district will have the option to purchase the solar panels, taking on the operation but significantly lowering their future energy costs.

Within the school, a 4-H campaign worked to get the whole school on board with small steps to save energy. Well-informed students now understand how much energy a space heater uses and  how many kilowatt hours can be saved by turning off classroom lights.

The students’ efforts have created a “ripple effect” throughout the region, in Dvorak’s words. Dvorak hopes to bring solar to more southeast Iowa schools, starting with the nearby Muscatine school district. Both the city of Wapello and Louisa County also have solar projects in the works.

Ehrman is now a freshman at Iowa State University studying aerospace engineering. He hopes to work on environmentally sustainable space exploration. “I’m so proud of what our kids accomplished and that they did such a big project for the school,” he said. “These projects that start out as small ideas can slowly grow and become something really big and really impactful for your community.”