Greenbrier County Schools is celebrating the installation of two renewable energy sources for its buildings. 

One thousand solar panels, and close to 80 geothermal wells, are now online to help power and cool Greenbrier County’s school buildings.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Greenbrier Superintendent Jeffery Briant called the solar array the largest for any school system in the state.

“The significant difference it will make in energy cost and energy efficiency, and also the comfort it will provide for our students and teachers and staff is truly remarkable,” he said. 

County Board of Education President Jeanie Wyatt touted the budget impact the project will have on the county.

“With our challenges in our budgets and with our finances, it gets very difficult, and one of the challenges there is our energy costs, because every year they continue to grow, and it makes it very, very hard for us to do what we want to do,” Wyatt said. “We don’t have to rely on outside resources for our energy. We’re going to cut our energy costs, but we’re also going to make dividends from it, which will pay for this project, as well as dividends for the county.”

In August 2024, Greenbrier County Schools installed a ground-source heat pump system and the solar array. The technologies are expected to generate a $2 million federal reimbursement, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and boost energy efficiency.