The Architectural Review Board (ARB) will consider an application to place solar panels on Evening Street Elementary School at its Thursday meeting.

If approved, the panels would help provide power for the school, though the percentage provided would be small.

The purpose of the project is stewardship and education, said Dan Harrington, who works for Solar Vision, the company placing the panels on the school.

Harrington is a former Evening Street student who graduated from Thomas Worthington High School in 2005 and from the University of Vermont last spring.

If approved, the company hopes to install the panels in the next couple of months, he said.

The project would be done at not cost to the district, though the schools would pay for the power, which is expected to cost the district less than current power sources.

Mock panels are currently on the roof of the building to give residents and the ARB an idea of how they would look.

According to Worthington development coordinator Lynda Bitar, the panels would be placed in three locations on the roof and would be slightly visible from West Granville Road and Evening Street and approaching the school from the west on West Stafford and West Clearview avenues.

Shields could be installed to soften the view. The shields are 12-inch or 20-inch metal pieces that would be installed around the panels.

The panels stand 11 inches off the roof.

Solar Vision made a presentation to the Worthington Board of Education last February, asking for permission to place solar panels on Worthington schools. Worthingway Middle School is also being considered, Bitar said.

The company was started by three Worthington residents over coffee at a local coffee shop, Thomas Van Cleef told the school board.

Van Cleef is still with the company, which was founded by another community resident, Greg Kuss.

The payment for the power, plus tax credits, would provide capital for the project and for future projects, he said.

Board member Charlie Wilson said that schools in Japan and Germany have used solar power for many years.

Van Cleef said Solar Vision is trying to provide the vision that has been lacking in this country.

A monitor system would be installed to provide students and the community access to information about how much energy is being saved by the solar panels at any time.

"It's a nice tool for the kids," Harrington said.

cbrooks@thisweeknews.com