Environmental Leader

The University of California, San Diego, which strives to be one of the nation’s “greenest” college campuses, is installing solar trees on the roof of two of its parking garages.

Fresno State completed a similar installation last year.

Steel components at the Uiversity of California have already taken shape, forming frameworks that will soon be fitted with a canopy of Kyocera photovoltaic modules to provide energy for the campus.

Each solar tree at UCSD will generate more than 17,000 hours of energy per year; enough to power more than four single-family homes; and avoid 13.2 metric tons of carbon emissions.

In addition, the design offers the option to install an outlet for electric vehicle charging.

The solar tree is the creation of Envision.

Parking lots are seen as a prime location for solar power installations. Google has installed solar canopies on its parking lots to satisfy 30 percent of its headquarters’ power demand.

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