Crews work on one of the solar panels in the field at the former Paducah Schools Forest Hills School campus on July 21.
Board members listen to Superintendent Donald Shively describe the energy sellback agreement with Paducah Power for the district’s solar field at a called meeting on Nov. 2.
Superintendent Donald Shively
Multi-Platform Journalist
Crews work on one of the solar panels in the field at the former Paducah Schools Forest Hills School campus on July 21.
PADUCAH — The Paducah Public Schools Board of Education approved an agreement with Paducah Power System at a called meeting Monday to sell back energy produced by the district’s solar field project.
Superintendent Donald Shively said the district has had a great relationship with Paducah Power throughout the project, and the board’s approval was the final step in completing the agreement. He said the district will sell back power to the company at a wholesale rate.
“Conservatively, we think we’ll save $20,000 to $25,000 a year, based on our engineering analysis,” Shively said. “So that will go back to our district from Paducah Power. My vision for that money is to put that into school safety. It’s a unique revenue source, and safety is definitely an area that we need to continually be focused on as a school district.”
The solar field, located at the former Forest Hills School campus, was funded through an $875,000 Department of Energy grant the district secured in 2024. Construction was completed in the summer, and Shively said all that’s left to do before putting the project to use is signing the contract. He said there is also potential to widen the scope of the project in the future with battery storage.
Board members listen to Superintendent Donald Shively describe the energy sellback agreement with Paducah Power for the district’s solar field at a called meeting on Nov. 2.
“When we applied for this project, our engineers that we trust were saying that the technology for battery and battery storage, while it was there, might not have been as safe as we would want it to be,” he said. “Technology has caught up significantly, so hopefully in the future we will be able to have battery storage capabilities there, so that when we get the solar energy, we store it and then are able to sell that at a different time. Right now, we’re going to be selling that back at a wholesale rate to Paducah Power, and we’re very thankful for that. But if we have battery storage, we can sell it at a peak time during summer and winter. That’s actually something we’ve talked about with Paducah Power, how that could help them out in addition as we go forward.”
Beyond the energy sellback aspect of the project, it also provides educational opportunities to students in the district. Fourth graders from McNabb Elementary have already taken a field trip to the site.
Superintendent Donald Shively
“It’s a unique opportunity that not all school systems would have,” Shively said. “The ability to be within two miles of a solar field for each of our elementary schools or middle schools makes it a tangible piece to go see. We’re in the world of nuclear enrichment now. We’re having those conversations as a community. When you’re looking at clean energy and renewable energy, it’s leading you to electricity and engineering. It’s a neat way to get children excited about the opportunities that align very well with incoming businesses and industry to our area. I think we’re inspiring children for opportunities that directly align to the workforce needs and opportunities in Paducah and McCracken County.”
Assistant Superintendent Will Black said a team of teachers has been working for over a year on how to incorporate the project into curriculum.
“We are developing project-based learning units that are in elementary, middle, and high school, and each year we’re rolling out a few more,” Black said. “These projects all culminate in a trip to the Makerspace, where there’s some culminating activity where they do down there. That’s kind of the idea. Our goal eventually is to have every student coming down there during the school day, at least twice in the school year.”
Multi-Platform Journalist
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