April 2, 2014 was a bright day at Merriwether Middle School as the school joined more than 20 other Solar 
Schools in South Carolina. “This is an exciting partnership between Aiken Electric Cooperative, Merriwether Middle, Edgefield County School District and Santee Cooper,” said AEC’s Vice President, Strategic Services Bill Inman.
Using a 10’ X 12’ solar array, the system provides 2kW of solar power for sixth-grade students and their teachers to explore the benefits and challenges of renewable energy. The Santee Cooper-developed curriculum centers on applicable math and science standards. The program is kit-based and supports hands-on learning in the classroom. There is also a Web-based system that shows real time energy output from the school’s solar panel and allows the students to benchmark the efficiency of other systems across the country.
“They’re playing and they’re learning and they don’t even know it,” said sixth-grade science teacher Rewa Milton. “The students get to work together and work with their hands.” The class started the energy modules December, 2013.
Part of the dedication celebration included solar car races with model vehicles built by teams of students. The entire sixth-grade class was engaged. “Clearly with this program, everyone is a winner,” stated Inman.
