阅读理解
Sheridan is a town in Indiana, USA. There are lots of trees near the public schools in the town. Their leaves turn sunlight intoenergy（能量）.
In Sheridan, the sun not just provides energy for plants.Itkeeps schools running, too. The schools usesolar panels（太阳能电池板） to turn sunlight into energy.
The science behind solar energy is not new. But Sheridan Community Schools is the first schooldistrict(学区) in Indiana to be completely solar-powered. The district finished putting in solar panels for all three of its schools in 2016. Some of the panels can turn to follow the sun across the sky.
In 2008, fewer than 1. 000 schools used solar power. By 2014, there were 3, 727 schools with solar panels in the USA. These numbers come from a report by the Solar Foundation. Roxie Brown, a program director there said that the number of schools with solar panels has continued to go up since 2014.
Solar energy has some advantages over other energy sources(来源). Sunlight is arenewablesource, which means it won't run out. Solar panels don't harm the environment. Also, sunlight is free. So by using solar power, schools can save money on energy costs.
Brown thinks more schools should run on solar energy. "The sun is Earth s energy source," she says. "We're trying to make it the energy source for our houses cars and schools, too."
But using solar energy isn't always easy. Solar panels can be expensive to put in. The panels also take up space. But for many schools, going solar is worth it.
