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Energy from the Sun

Photovoltaics Projects on Campus: One Complete, Another Set for March

Story by Corinne Saunders

As nonrenewable resources such as coal and oil shrink in supply worldwide, the use of sustainable ways to generate energy is on the rise, and sustainable energy projects are the focus of the Renewable Energy Initiative (REI) at Appalachian State University.

A student-run organization composed of seven students and five faculty and staff advisors, REI has sponsored two photovoltaic projects—setting up systems that convert sunlight into electricity—on campus. One is complete and another will begin in March.

REI collects $5 per student per semester and puts the money toward renewable energy projects.

The annual total budget for REI is between $140,000 and $150,000, said Ged Moody, an industrial technology graduate student and this semester’s REI chair.

“REI was approved by a 92 percent majority of students [last spring],” Moody said. “The decision to [continue to] tax themselves is a very clear mandate from students to pursue renewable energy.”

REI is now about three and a half years old, Moody said. At its three-year mark last spring, the student majority vote renewed it for three more years.

The students in REI not only direct the money to renewable energy projects, but are also responsible for managing the projects.

For the two photovoltaic projects, “Our goal is to try to offset the university’s energy cost and provide an education to all students who see [the systems] and interact with them,” Moody said.

Katherine Harper Hall: Finished

Katherine Harper Hall houses the ASU Department of Technology and is the first building on campus to implement a sustainable, electricity-producing system.

The solar panels installed on the roof will by no means power the whole building, but REI’s view is that every bit of sustainable energy counts, and adds up, in the long run.

The 1.5-kilowatt (kW) system came with a price tag of about $12,000 and will produce five to six kilowatt hours (kWh) a day, Moody said.

The installation is complete and the photovoltaic system will begin converting sunlight into electricity within the next week.

Moody supervised the project, and two graduate students facilitated the installation for their class project. Many undergraduate students enrolled in photovoltaic classes in the fall semester also took part in various stages of installing the system.

Although the system at Katherine Harper Hall is primarily for demonstration purposes, the relatively small system, if installed on a home, could pay for itself in about 20 years. Both the federal and state governments offer tax credits for homeowners who install comparable photovoltaic systems. The average home in the Southeast uses 1,100 kW a month.

Wind and solar-thermal systems can pay for themselves over a period of only three to seven years, but the silicon-based photovoltaic cells are expensive to produce, Moody said. As the technology matures, the price will drop, and photovoltaic systems in the future will be much cheaper, he said.

Raley Hall: Coming Soon

The next REI project—ground-mounted photovoltaic panels in front of Raley Hall—is set to begin in March.

As with all the projects, a student member of REI is in charge.

“REI members all have some project experience. It’s a great experience…working with industry, policy makers [and] bureaucracy,” said Joe Smith, an appropriate technology graduate student and the project manager for the Raley photovoltaic project.

The real-world experience comes with both expected and unexpected challenges.

“We still have to get permission from the State Department of Insurance [saying that] everything is done according to code and [is] safe, so it can be insured,” Smith said.

The original January 2008 deadline for the project was changed because of design limitations, he added.

Once the photovoltaic system is connected to the power grid, it will produce about 16 kWh per day, enough power to run 16 microwaves for an hour straight, Smith said. When it is up and running, the photovoltaic system will generate enough power each year to prevent the burning of two and a half tons of coal, Smith added, producing an annual output of about 6,100 kW.

“[The system] will prevent over six tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere: the equivalent of 15,500 annual miles not driven,” Smith said.

Southern Energy Management, a Raleigh-based company, will install the system in March, and ASU graduates will likely be involved in the work.

“Many ASU graduates now working in installing will return; it’s a great opportunity to see where they learned [those skills and use them],” Smith said.

The finished structure will be about 45 feet wide and 19 feet tall, but because of its location on a 36-degree slope, “it won’t look that tall from the parking lot,” Smith said.

Although the power generated from the system will feed into the massive power grid, the energy will essentially go straight to Raley Hall because of the building’s proximity.

The $65,000 Raley photovoltaic budget includes funds for landscaping with perennials and installing artwork around the project.

Several consecutive clear days with temperatures above freezing will be required for the construction of the concrete piers where the array—the compilation of PV panels—will be mounted, Smith said.

Landscaping and fine-tuning will take the rest of the semester to complete, but “the bulk of the work will be done in March,” Smith said.

For more information about these or other REI projects, click to www.rei.appstate.edu.