News

Student parking lot solar panels

Sophia Gorba, Staff Writer • August 26, 2024

The school’s back student parking lot now consists of solar panels. Construction was completed over the 2024 summer.

The construction of the back lot solar panels finished just in time for the 2024-25 school year after a lengthy planning process.

The new solar panels came with environmental and monetary benefits, according to principal Rob Coppo.

“It’s great to see that we’ve got something like [the solar panels] because I know that the sustainability we’ll have going forward and the money that it will save the district is worth it,” Coppo said.

This sentiment is reflected in the student body.

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“I think ultimately it’ll be a good idea in the long run … because they can help with the environment and they are a good addition to the school,” Cooper Yoo (12) said.

Beyond the solar power itself, the new structure comes with additional perks.

“[The solar panels] give my car shade, so it’s less hot during the day and they look nice,” Lucy Freeberg (12) said.

The construction process stretched from the day after graduation — June 1 — to the Friday before school started — August 9, according to Coppo.

“Typically construction projects, when they tell me what the [expected] end date is, I’m like ‘Okay, we’ll add a month,’” Coppo said. “I was really worried about the start of school but they knew they had a hard deadline because otherwise none of our students could park and that would be a problem.”

While the construction may have only taken a summer, the process as a whole took around three years, according to Coppo. On top of getting funding from the district and finding time in between other construction projects, the delay in acquiring solar panels compared to the rest of the district was in part due to the school’s old infrastructure.

“The other schools had much easier parking lots than ours to retrofit,” Coppo said. “One of the problems was getting to the wires and power and accessing that because when Torrey was built [50 years ago,] no one thought about solar panels for the schools back then.”

Now, after the long wait, Coppo is satisfied with the result.

“I’m just really, really happy we finally have it — it’s something that will be important for the longevity of Torrey Pines to keep us sustainable,” Coppo said.

*Click here to read about last year’s coverage on the solar panels (A1-2).*

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About the Contributors

Sophia Gorba, Writer

A perfectionist at heart, Sophia Gorba has dedicated her time in the newsroom to writing multiple drafts of each story and creating designs for pages (with an absurd amount of layers on InDesign) during her time as Feature Editor last year. Now rounding off her high school experience as a senior, Gorba is excited to meet new people, grow her writing skills and see how the Falconer will evolve throughout the year and beyond. She intends to spend her third year on the Falconer staff using her eye for detail to properly represent local happenings and the individual stories of people in the community. Gorba’s perfectionist tendencies extend outside of the newsroom to her hobbies as well, having dedicated far too much of her spare time to painstakingly sewing dresses and painting with watercolors and acrylics. Gorba can also be found at her Taekwondo studio working towards a black belt, spending time with friends and family, getting immersed in information rabbit holes and baking (even though she unfortunately does not have the skillset nor the correct nationality to apply for The Great British Bake Off). In her most relaxed state, Gorba enjoys sitting down with a good book, a cup of coffee and a potentially hazardous amount of scented candles.

Eric Lee, Asst. Editor-in-Chief, Design

Going into his third year on the Falconer and first year as AEIC of Design, Eric Lee looks forward to keeping the website as sleek and sophisticated as is fitting of a nationally ranked student news publication. Outside the newsroom, Lee can be found after school in the Performing Arts Center rehearsing alongside his fellow TP Players for the school’s seasonal play. During his free time, Lee also enjoys playing video games and watching anime and cartoons. Some media he enjoys include Overwatch 2, Stardew Valley, Undertale, Deltarune, Omori, most shounen animes, YouTube video essays, and other such topics that one could dub as “chronically online.” He is also enthused by anyone whose music taste is similar to his, so feel free to inquire about any song recommendations. Overall, Lee is excited for his last year on staff to be as productive as ever.