The Hood River County School District Board approved a just under $1.4 million contract to move forward with a project at Wy’east Middle School to install a microgrid system to include solar, bus charging, and an electric bus powered backup system.  The long-discussed project is being funded through a combination of federal, state, and private grants.  District Superintendent Bill Newton explains that the solar power generated at the site can be stored for emergency on a special school bus, and then in the case of an outage used to provide power to the Wy’east gymnasiums for use as a shelter.  District Chief Financial Officer Mark DeMoss told the board the solar panels should be installed in a couple of months, with full construction taking place over the next year.