The Mehlville Board of Education soon may have the opportunity to proceed with a return-on-investment solar energy project.

Superintendent Eric Knost told the Call he could bring to the board at its May 10 meeting a lease agreement for a solar energy project involving three district buildings — Hagemann Elementary, Bernard Middle and Oakville Senior High School.

“It’s pretty exciting because all this time we’ve been trying to figure out how to move forward with solar and be kind of cutting edge with that,” he said, “and (we) couldn’t do it and couldn’t do it, and here’s this lease option that we’re introduced to that is pretty cool.”

With a lease agreement, the district spends no “out-of-pocket money,” according to Knost.

“(The chosen company would) do all the maintaining. They do all the installing,” he said, “and the concept is that the lease itself will be cheaper than the overall savings we’ll immediately realize from the solar power.”

Board of Education President Venki Palamand said the district could see an immediate savings on utility bills depending on the cost of the lease.

“Those savings will likely grow in the years to come as electricity costs continue to escalate,” Palamand said.

The three schools were chosen for the project based on the newness of their roofs.

All three schools have newer roofs, allowing a longer time frame between installing solar panels and temporarily removing them for roof replacement, according to Palamand.

Requests for proposal, or RFPs, were sent Monday in hopes of presenting information to the board on May 10. Knost said there is no cost to explore the lease option.

“It’s not a sealed bid, but a request-for-proposal process, where we invite solar companies to propose what their plan would be to install 25-kilowatt solar systems on three of our buildings,” he said.

Palamand said installation could begin during the 2012-2013 school year, depending on the RFP process and board approval.

“I would imagine if we can find the right match for a solar company and under the right conditions and right terms, we could probably have something in the process by fall of this year where construction has begun,” he said.

A rebate is available through Ameren Missouri, which would save the company the district chooses to lease through up to $50,000.

All board members, according to Palamand, received an email from the company Brightergy, a renewable-energy service provider, before the April 18 board meeting, which restarted the conversation about a solar energy project.

“I think the board is generally on board with idea of doing a solar project,” he said. “We just need to find an effective way to do it to where it saves money for the district …”

Knost planned to present a proposal for a solar energy project to the Board of Education in October, but removed the item shortly before the Oct. 12 meeting.