Andy Weiland, the Business Manager for the Oregon School District is retiring so we wanted to take an opportunity to thank Andy, one more time, for all the ways he’s influenced clean energy and climate action across Dane County.
You might know Andy from his work on Oregon School District’s Forest Edge Elementary, the first net-zero public school n the US. Andy was the one who championed doing a net-zero energy school and then made the financials work. One of my earliest memories of Andy is hearing him talk about how he utilized green bond financing for Forest Edge Elementary.
Andy’s interest in clean energy started much earlier, though. In presentations he often talks about how it all started with efforts to put up a couple of solar panels so that students could get exposure to the technology. He is always focused on engaging students while also reducing the district’s operating costs.
So, first, I appreciate Andy because he made Forest Edge Elementary happen, because he recognized the value of solar power in education and pursued opportunities to realize clean energy at scale. Forest Edge Elementary features geothermal, solar and battery storage—no small feat for a facility finished in 2020.
Even more, though, I’m grateful to Andy for his willingness to share what he learned and to help others pursue similar paths. Over the last six years I have probably heard Andy talk about Forest Edge and the district’s broader sustainability efforts at least a dozen times. He does a great job of sharing lessons learned. Andy’s done special tours of Forest Edge for me and various guest multiple times, often on weekends. And beyond that I have connected Andy to dozens of people over the years and he’s always willing to answer their questions, offer his ideas. In all of those interactions one thing always stands out—Andy’s genuine enthusiasm for engaging folks, especially young folks, in clean energy’s potential. From the amazing visuals in the hallways at Forest Edge to the way Andy encourages other educators to install energy monitoring…it’s very inspiring.
Andy’s willingness to share his story and the amazing visuals of clean energy at Forest Edge Elementary helped make the geothermal-solar pairing contagious here in Dane County. The Oregon example prompted discussions in numerous communities where I heard leaders say “why can’t we do net-zero too?”
Today there are numerous facilities across our communities that use this mix of technologies—geothermal heat pumps for heating and cooling, on-site solar to power the buildings and batteries to help the solar match the consumption. My best estimate is that there are maybe 10 net-zero energy buildings in the state and 8 of those facilities are here in Dane County. Definitely that reflects the vision of a lot of local leaders but it also reflects how one person can do something that then inspires others to act too.
Andy Weiland has been an invaluable catalyst in our region, inspiring lots of folks to pursue visionary projects. He epitomizes what County Executive Melissa Agard refers to as “the Dane County Way” with his commitment to collaboration and innovation.
I wish Andy all the best in his retirement. The Office of Energy & Climate Change is deeply grateful for Andy’s leadership so we’ll end with just one more big thank you to Andy for all that he did to make the clean energy future a little closer.
Kathy is the Director of the Dane County’s Office of Energy and Climate Change. In that role she's leading efforts to implement the Climate Action Plan. Prior to coming to Dane County, Kathy led Cool Choices and, prior to that, she led Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program.
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