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Power

San Francisco Teachers Visit SFPUC and Davies Symphony Hall for a Lesson on Clean Energy

Group of people standing on a rooftop covered with solar panels, city skyline and dome building in the background under cloudy sky.
  • Antonio Almaguer

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) Power Enterprise recently welcomed 16 San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) teachers for a presentation on the city’s clean energy efforts, including a walkthrough of the SFPUC’s solar installation at Davies Symphony Hall. 

Led by Chris Paras, Utility Specialist for the Power Enterprise, the tour started with an overview of Hetch Hetchy Power and CleanPowerSF, the SFPUC’s two clean energy programs. Thanks to the ongoing partnership between the SFPUC and the SFUSD, Hetch Hetchy Power currently operates eight solar arrays within the SFUSD pipeline. Hetch Hetchy Power operates these solar arrays to provide clean energy to public buildings like City Hall and public schools. Learning about this topic geared the group up to head nearby to Davies Symphony Hall, where they could see a rooftop solar array in action.  

The Davies Symphony Hall is one of 30 solar projects in the City and features two separate solar panel installations that together supply about 16 percent of the building’s energy needs, roughly the amount of electricity required to power 64 homes in San Francisco. Most of the tour took place on the building’s roof, where participants walked through both solar arrays while learning about the hall’s history, the development of its solar systems, how the technology operates, and more.

Tours and presentations like this happen often to help raise awareness of CleanPowerSF’s programs among diverse groups and audiences. The SFUSD teacher externship program included this learning opportunity as part of their recent week‑long training, giving us the chance to share San Francisco’s clean energy efforts with local educators.