Environmental Leader

Arizona State University will be home to one of the largest solar power installations at any U.S. university once it completes the installation of two megawatts of solar electric modules on approximately 135,000-sqare-feet of rooftop space and some parking structures on its Tempe campus, The Arizona Republic reports.

ASU has awarded energy contracts to Honeywell Building Systems, Independent Energy Group and SolEquity, which will begin the installation this summer with completion scheduled for December 2008.

The solar panels will meet up to seven percent of the energy needs for ASU’s Tempe campus, the Republic reports, and is expected to reduce the university’s GHG emissions by 2,825 tons per year and save the school $425,000 in energy costs annually.

Universities are increasingly using their sprawling facilities to capture the sun’s energy. Contra Costa Community College District also announced the completion of the first phase of a 3.2 MW system comprised of photovoltaic panels on 34 parking canopies in six parking lots at three colleges.

Florida Gulf Coast University announced in May that it was planning a 2 MW solar installation at its facilities.

Advertisers