Solar panels that could bring $30,000 or more a year to Shoreline Unified School District coffers might be installed on district land in Tomales, depending on a study of the town’s power grid. The solar panels would not directly provide energy for the schools; instead, a solar company would pay the district a set annual price to lease the land and build the panels at their own expense. Marin Clean Energy would then pay the solar company for the power the panels deliver to the grid. Tomales resident Alvin Duskin, who worked in alternative energy for years before retiring, proposed to the district board in February that solar panels could be a valuable revenue source; trustees requested a formal proposal. At last week’s board meeting, Mr. Duskin said he had contacted 18 companies to discuss the possibilities. Many wanted up to a year of “exclusivity,” meaning the board would not contact other developers in that time frame while the company evaluated whether the grid in Tomales could accommodate power from the panels. But tax credits that would fund a portion of the cost of the project expire next year. One company, Spear Point Energy, based in Sausalito, made the best offer: within three months of signing a contract, the company would spend $15,000 to determine if, and to what extent, the electric grid can handle the panels. If the project is infeasible, the company will eat the cost; if the grid can accommodate the power, the district can debate the pros and cons and put a project out to bid if it decides to move forward. Spear Point said in a letter to the district that it would pay $30,000 a year if the grid can only handle two megawatts, or $37,500 a year for 2.5 megawatts “It’s a sweet deal,” Mr. Duskin said. “I wish it were my deal.” As part of a state law, the district would have to assemble a seven-member oversight committee to weigh in on using public land as a revenue source. Spear Point said it needs the exclusivity contract signed by Aug. 1 for a feasibility study to commence. Potential locations include unused lands on a south-facing slope near sewer ponds operated by the Tomales Village Community Services District and another area west of the district’s bus garage. Mr. Duskin said the array wouldn’t be visible to students.