In 2024, Prince William County Public Schools announced the beginning of construction on their first net-zero building, Occoquan Elementary School, with hopes of opening for the 2026-2027 school year.
Locally, LCPS has constructed 51 new buildings since 2000 and opened 28 elementary, 11 middle, and 11 high schools. Only one building has been purely net-zero thus far. According to LCPS energy supervisor Mikel Solupe, LCPS has begun to prioritize sustainability. According to LCPS’ sustainability website, “We are currently working to develop LCPS’s Sustainability Strategy in an effort to provide a new perspective for implementing sustainability throughout the LCPS community.”
Ashburn Elementary, per LCPS direction, was renovated in 2024 to achieve full net-zero status—following standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy as well as the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR certification. The school achieved NextGen Energy Star status, meaning it uses 30% renewable energy and omits a low level of harmful greenhouse gases, specifically 0.10 kg CO2 e/ft or less. Two additional elementary schools, Balls Bluff and Banneker, are in the beginning stages of working towards net zero.
A net zero building is one that produces as much energy as it consumes. This can be achieved through solar panels, energy-saving LED lights, and most commonly, geothermal pumps.
A successful geothermal pump simply requires permeable rock and a water source to successfully pump heat. A high level of tectonic activity is preferred, but not required. Geothermal has been a popular pick for LCPS due to its efficiency and longevity, usually lasting between 20 and 25 years, and have been installed through renovations in at least three of their schools so far: Aldie, Ashburn, and Banneker. Most schools, including Loudoun County High School, lack the space and area necessary, as well as the required time and money.
“[Geothermal] is much more energy efficient than your typical electric air conditioning or heating system,” Solupe said. While having a more expensive upfront cost, the utility cost remains low, in turn saving LCPS money.
Aldie Elementary, which originally opened in 1807 and was later destroyed in a fire, reopened its doors again in 1928. Since Aldie is a smaller school, the county expressed concerns prior to 2020 about operating costs for such a small student population, but in September 2020, it was modernized to implement geothermal energy and reduce costs. The facility is 16,299-square-feet.
Before construction, the building averaged an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) (measured in kBTSY/SF/yr, which is thousand British Thermal Units per square foot, per square year) well within the range for a school building (48-150 kBTSY/SF/yr). Post-geothermal, it averaged 40.5 kBTSU/SF/yr, below the expected aforementioned EUI.
Aldie was rebuilt in 1928, making it older than our own school, and yet it was capable of implementing renewable, green energy. As for LCHS, no plans are actively being made.
“We need time,” Solupe said. “With the right planning and the right kind of cost benefit analysis, it’s definitely a possibility.” According to Solupe, building geothermal systems often takes five or more years to implement based on the size of the project and property.
However, some schools don’t have the space for geothermal. Most of the time, geothermal is installed under athletic fields. This of course has to be approved by the principal of the school.
Solupe said that the work required for a geothermal system will have a major impact on the fields, so when a field needs to be returfed, it is a good time to install a geothermal system. We “refresh the fields,” Solupe said. “We go in and do the work and then they can make the field look all nice afterwards.”
Another option is solar panels, which harness power from the sun. Currently, solar panels are installed on top of seven schools, including the nearby J. Lupton Simpson Middle School.
So far, solar has proved to be beneficial for both energy production and cost.
“Currently, I would say what we have generated in terms of solar in just one year alone is enough to offset what we pay for electricity for 10 elementary schools,” Solupe said. In reference to the power bills for schools that have solar, he also added, “All of our Dominion [the district’s power company] bills have been practically zero dollars.”
LCPS has demonstrated its commitment to integrating sustainable methods, going so far as to earn the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustained Excellence recognition. The only thing stopping us from making further progress is time, space and lack of adequate planning. According to Solupe, “We’re hopefully trying to get somewhere like Ashburn. That’s the goal.” •
