This school year, a big step that dTHS is taking to go green is installing solar panels.

“Going Green, in my view, is doing whatever we can within reason to acknowledge our part in keeping our environment as safe and clean as possible,” said Head of School Mark Shpall. 

The school has been taking steps to go green for years: changing all the lights to LEDs to use less energy, changing water fixtures to use less water, composting and recycling with the city and the trash service, growing an organic garden, and teaching students how to take care of the environment. 

Six to eight years ago, dTHS received an award from LADWP recognizing the school for its attempt to lower its carbon footprint. 

There’s been an ongoing discussion about installing solar panels at dTHS for years, said Shpall. 

The biggest roadblock to this project was the finance, he said. Installing solar panels will cost the school millions of dollars. 

While this project is very expensive, it will, in the long run, save the school a lot of money. “We should have our return on investment around five years from now, and for the next 15 years, it’ll only be savings,” said Shpall. 

The solar panels will be able to generate around 1 million kilowatt hours per year. 

The school finally raised enough money to fund this project. There is also now a program by the federal government that will give the school a rebate on the money they spend on solar panels, lowering the cost of the project. 

The solar panels will be built on the entirety of both buildings where there is access to sunlight, according to Shpall. 

The process of installing the solar panels is slow, but has already started. The first and current step of the process is repairing the roof. The next will be getting permits from the city and county for the installation, followed by the actual installation of the panels. 

Shpall is hopeful that the installation will be completed by April or May of this school year or even earlier.