Alviston Blog

Those of you who live near Buchanan High School in Clovis already know that something special is happening.

The north side of the campus, in a spot that used to house three temporary classrooms, has been cleared for what is going to be the first building of its kind. It is called the Buchanan Energy Center and it will be the home of the Energy and Environment program, which started at Buchanan last year.

The students already enrolled in the program will have the benefit of watching the building take shape, but so will you.

Alviston.com is announcing a new feature: The Buchanan Energy Page. It will follow the project as it goes up, detailing all the energy-saving systems and all the “green” materials in the building. From the radiant floor heating and insulated concrete form walls, to the photovoltaic panels on the roof, Alviston.com will be there bringing you constant updates.

The Buchanan Energy Center is not just a building; it is also a learning tool. Special “portals” in the walls and the floor will allow students to see inside the wall to see how they function. Students will be able to monitor the solar panels and wind turbines on the roof to see just how much power they are generating. In addition to making its own power, the building will have a vegetative, “green” roof. And that’s not all.

While one wing of the building will be dedicated to classrooms, the other wing is a huge shop area where students will be able to work directly with many of the materials and equipment featured in the building. They will be able to conduct tests on different types of wall systems to see how energy efficient they are. They will have the chance to work with silicon wafers, the basic piece of a photovoltaic panel.

Being able to put students in this type of learning environment is incredibly exciting. Who knows, they might come up with a car that creates no pollution and runs on sunlight, or a house putting power back into the grid with its efficiency.

You might think that this building stuff is only for people interested in construction. Actually, it’s for everyone. What we have here is a chance to look at things differently, a chance for everyone to see how our buildings affect our environment and how our environment affects us. What we have here is a chance to see how it all fits together.

Please tell everyone you know about the Buchanan Energy Page on Alviston.com.

In a time when there has been plenty of bad news, The Buchanan Energy Center project looks towards the future in a positive way. I am certain that the excitement felt by all the people who have been diligently working on this project for the past three years will rub off on everyone. The Buchanan Energy Center is destined be one those buildings that people talk about for years and one that the students at Buchanan High School in Clovis will always remember.

Follow Alviston on Twitter and Facebook.

–Mark Alvis