What’s a battery energy storage system and how could it save New Trier $9.7 million

In the spring of 2024, both New Trier High School campuses installed their long awaited solar panels. Then, it was on to the next project to save energy and money.

The School Board on July 14 approved a contract with Convergence Energy to install a battery energy storage system, a system that charges batteries and stores energy at night when electric rates are cheaper. Then that stored energy is used the next day, when electric rates are typically higher. 

New Trier Deputy Superintendent Chris Johnson said the school continues working on ways to improve the school’s environmental impact. He also said energy bills are becoming more expensive: U.S. electricity rates increased 7.3% in the past 12 months, more than double inflation in that time, according to an analysis from Yahoo! Finance.

“This is the next step for us in that journey to improve the campus’s environmental impact and to reduce the cost of operating the campus,” Johnson said. “That’s really important to us, again for the environmental reasons, but also because the cost of energy is going up at a greater rate (than) inflation.”

The project will cost New Trier an estimated $9 million, but that price is expected to be recovered in just one year through grants, reimbursements and revenue, according to Johnson’s memo to the School Board.

Then, reportedly in the next 15 years, the project is expected to generate more than $9.7 million of net revenue for the district as it reduces future utility costs. 

If the project falls short of its energy-saving expectations, school districts reportedly are financially protected under the board-approved contract.

Johnson said that the money saved from the system could support future educational needs.

“We’re really excited about it,” Johnson said. “We think it’s going to bring benefits to our taxpayers by reducing our energy costs, and that it will allow a greater percentage of our budget to be focused on the things that matter, which is supporting our students and less on the overhead of energy costs.”

The district plans to install the BESS system at its Northfield campus by spring 2027.

New Trier began its mission to be a greener school in 2022, when the school approved a $3.83 million contract to install solar panels on five out of six roofs of the Northfield campus. At the time, district officials estimated that solar panels could generate up to 38% of the campus’ power. The Winnetka campus then installed solar panels last summer. 

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