Edge High School Celebrates Solar Installation

Edge High School Celebrates Solar Installation with Ribbon-Cutting. Tucson leaders in solar energy innovation join Edge staff and students in celebrating its clean energy campus

Thanks to a generous grant from the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) and its partners, Edge High School will be celebrating the public unveiling of its solar power installation at its Himmel Park Campus on Thursday, March 7th at 1:00 pm. As the first CFSA grant recipient to have its solar energy installation completed, Edge will be hosting this community event to celebrate its campus going green! 


Launched in 2022 as a partnership between CFSA and Solar United Neighbors (SUN), the Nonprofit Solar Project helps local community service organizations meet a significant portion of their energy needs through solar power. The project is funded primarily through the generous support of an anonymous CFSA donor. To help expand the project’s reach, Tucson Foundations contributed an additional $100,000 and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) added $15,000. In total, CFSA and its partners invested $630,000 to provide solar installations for six nonprofit organizations through the first round of funding in 2023. The nonprofits included: BICAS, Coyote TaskForce, The Drawing Studio, Edge High School, Emerge! Center Against Domestic Violence, and Youth On Their Own.

“We are delighted to celebrate the first completed solar installation funded through CFSA’s Nonprofit Solar Project,” said Jenny Flynn, CFSA’s President and CEO. “This initiative enables nonprofits to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs, freeing up resources for programming or other infrastructure needs. The solar installation at Edge High School is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when individuals, businesses, and nonprofits come together to create a better – and more sustainable – Southern Arizona. We are proud to serve as a resource and leader in bringing people and organizations together to continue building a vibrant and equitable community where everyone thrives.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the first complete solar installation through the Nonprofit Solar Project,” said Adrian Keller, Arizona Program Director for Solar United Neighbors. “It’s amazing to help a community organization like Edge High School access the power of the sun, save money on their energy bills, and reinvest those savings in their programs, people, and community.”

SUN estimates the new solar energy system will save Edge High School $1,112 per month in energy costs; on average this represents an approximate annual savings of 70%. Over the next 20 years the estimated savings will be $146,313, with a breakeven point on the cost of the installation of approximately nine years. 



Edge High School goes green

Edge High School’s 13,000 sq ft Himmel Park Campus was the first grant recipient to turn on its solar powered installation on January 17, 2024. The installation delivers 58.5 kilowatts of solar energy powering 100% of the campus’ electrical requirements via 116 solar panels. The facility holds nine classrooms, serving approximately 250 students each year and operates year round, including holding a three-week summer school session.

The Edge solar installation is a “push/pull” system, where energy generated by the solar panels powers the school’s needs and any excess is returned to the TEP grid. “If the school exceeds the capacity generated by the installation, then it draws energy from the grid,” said Anne Ortiz, Edge District Finance and Resource Director. “Solar United Neighbors was instrumental in helping us develop our request for proposal (RFP) for the solar installation contractor bids and finding a B Corp certified company that met high standards in charitable giving and sustainable supply chain practices.” Technicians for Sustainability (TFS) won the RFP and designed and installed the system, which took only six weeks to install.

Designed with sustainability in mind

The new solar installation was the next step in the Edge Himmel Campus green renovation. In 2008, Edge was given the proceeds of a $4.6 million education bond that was awarded to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) of Pima County to renovate the school’s facility, which Edge purchased in 2007. As a nonprofit charter school, Edge does not have access to the public bonds that are available to traditional public schools, so IDA stepped up to get the funds that Edge required to purchase and renovate the facility to be more sustainable, without raising its square footage or carbon footprint.

According to Edge’s Executive Director and District Principal Rob Pecharich, “The Edge Himmel Campus green renovation was on the wish list for Edge founder Greg Hart and designed with sustainability in mind.”

Prior to adding the solar energy installation, Swaim Associates Architects and BFL Construction Company designed and renovated the Edge facility with the following energy-efficient features:

● Removal of all asbestos and the addition of insulation made out of recycled blue jeans
● Two metal water reclamation cisterns that collect rainwater
● New roofing with skylights and operable, energy-efficient windows to let in fresh air
● T8 lamp dual-level light fixtures controlled by motion sensors
● Canopy trees in the parking lot and desert-adapted vegetation
● An outdoor container garden to grow food that the students can eat on campus

Principal Pecharich shared, “It was an interesting experience to see students who had never eaten lettuce before, let alone lettuce that they grew themselves!”

In October 2023, Edge also participated in the TEP K-12 School Energy Efficiency Program and received 10 new higher SEER-rated, energy-efficient air conditioning/heat pump units at a savings of $100,000.

Event Details

The ribbon-cutting celebration is open to the public and will be held at the Edge High School Himmel Park Campus at 2555 E. 1st Street, Tucson, AZ 85716 on Thursday, March 7th at 1:00 pm. The event will feature speakers from Technicians for Sustainability and Edge’s staff, as well as students’ contributions on the impact of climate change, including results from a research project, as well as poetry and artwork.

Aout Edge High School

Edge is a Cognia accredited, tuition-free charter high school, with two campuses in the greater Tucson area. We provide an alternative to traditional education, meeting the diverse learning and life needs of our students with our blended curriculum and flexible morning or afternoon class schedules. Our high-quality, passionate teachers are dedicated to individualized instruction in our small academic classes. For more information go to edgehighschool.org.

About Community Foundation for Southern Arizona

Since 1980, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona has been a trusted philanthropic partner, helping individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits work together to create an equitable and vibrant community for all Southern Arizonans. Community Foundation for Southern Arizona has supported Southern Arizona with over $245 million in grants and scholarships, stewarding the philanthropic legacy of our community’s generous donors and increasing the breadth and depth of resources available to nonprofit organizations in our region. For more information, visit cfsaz.org or call 520-770-0800.


About Solar United Neighbors

Solar United Neighbors is a nonprofit organization that works in Arizona and nationwide to represent the needs and interests of solar owners and supporters. Solar United Neighbors holds events and education programs to help people, small businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities become informed solar consumers, maximize the value of their solar investment, and advocate for fair solar policies. For more information go to solarunitedneighbors.org.