Dive Brief:
- The University of Wisconsin-Stout installed its largest solar photovoltaic array to date as part of a multibuilding solar and energy efficiency upgrade project, according to a release.
- The installation at its Jarvis Hall Technology Wing, which consists of 560 VSUN solar panels, will supply 200 kW of power to the wing and adjacent buildings.
- The project is one of several efforts across University of Wisconsin campuses to implement solar energy as the institutions seek to lower energy costs and meet net-zero emission goals.
Dive Insight:
In addition to installing the solar panels, the university installed LED lighting at four buildings on campus. The LED fixtures are expected to save an estimated 1.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, it said. Destratification fans at its fieldhouse and one room of its sports and fitness center will provide further energy usage reductions, it added. The university also plans to complete building envelope weatherization improvements at 22 campus buildings.
According to the release, the engineering design report estimates that the entire efficiency upgrade project will reduce campus energy purchases by 9% and natural gas use by 2% annually. This is expected to save UW-Stout approximately $172,187 a year, with investment payback expected in about 16 years.
The project also helps UW-Stout reach its carbon-neutral commitment by 2050, which the university set as a charter signatory of the Carbon Commitment, which would require it to decrease its carbon emissions by 1,431 metric tons annually.
“Components of the system to support the solar panel will be on display at ground level outside Jarvis Hall Science Wing,” UW-Stout Senior Facilities Officer Justin Utpadel said in the release. “We intend to provide educational information at the viewing location to provide students, staff and visitors with details about the project and how it benefits our campus and the environment.”
The university said it also installed solar panels on its General Services Building at the end of August and that these panels will supply 114.4 kW to that building as well as adjacent buildings. It had previously added 122 solar panels to the existing 32 panels on the rooftop of its main university dining facility as part of an energy project completed in the spring of 2021, which was funded by the student campus sustainability initiative Green Fees.
The Jarvis Hall Technology Wing solar panels were installed by Eagle Point Solar under contract for Trane. UW-Stout says the overall upgrade project budget is estimated at about $2.8 million, with construction expected to be completed in March 2024.
Similar upgrades are taking place at other University of Wisconsin institutions. These include the installation of photovoltaic arrays on two academic buildings and upgrades to interior lighting systems in 15 buildings at UW-Stevens Point, and a solar array that is being built over a former parking lot on the UW-Parkside campus.
