EDC's Solar Monitoring Kiosk at the UO Rec Center.
The Ecological Design Center announced today that the third and final phase of its $100,000 project to bring solar energy to the University of Oregon campus is complete. The new Solar Kiosk will provide every student who visits the Student Recreation Center (SRC) with real-time information about exactly how much power the rooftop array is producing. The kiosk ribbon-cutting will be held at the SRC at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26. The event will last approximately 20 minutes.
In the spring of 2001, the Ecological Design Center (EDC) was awarded a $100,000 grant from the ASUO to install a grid-tied photovoltaic system on university rooftops. The grant’s goal was to fund enduring and environmentally responsible projects that benefit the entire student body, and the Ecological Design Center was able to increase the size of the project by 25% by taking advantage of a tax credit given by the Oregon Department of Energy for renewable energy projects. With this money, the EDC successfully installed a 3-kilowatt (kW) solar array at the Erb Memorial Union, phase one of the project, as well as the 12-kW array at the SRC, the second phase of the project. The power produced by these two solar arrays also offsets a portion of the UO’s utility bill, and has done so since installation.
12-kW solar on the roof of the UO Student Rec Center
The EDC’s original proposal to the ASUO outlined three main goals for the Solar project: to produce clean, renewable energy; to put the UO on the map as a "green" campus; and to generate energy that would save money for the student body. This project is a showcase for future energy-conscious development on campus and a multi-departmental cooperative effort made it possible. The 12-kW solar array is composed of 84 modules and sits on the roof above the SRC’s basketball courts. It was installed by Energy Design and Solar Assist, subcontractors for L.R. Brabham. The 84 150-Watt modules were made in Spain by Isofoton. The four inverters used were 'StarInverters' produced in Bend, Oregon by PVPowered,, who also provided technical assistance for the Solar Kiosk project.
Housed in a wooden cabinet and mounted on the wall opposite the SRC’s rental desk, the Solar Kiosk is designed to meet both observation and educational needs. It contains a computer and monitor that relays real-time data about how much energy the photovoltaic panels are producing, and how much energy they have produced since installation. The Solar Kiosk will also provide general information about the benefits of solar power, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the decentralization of power production, and the lack of dependence on foreign oil. This same information will also be available to anyone with Internet access through an interactive website at http://edc.uoregon.edu/solar.
The EDC’s Campus Sustainability Coordinator, Jesse Jenkins, who is a computer science major, designed the software needed to translate the solar data into a readable display with a team of UO computer science undergraduates. Graduate architecture student Dustann Jones then built the wooden cabinet that holds the display. This final phase of the solar project received funding through EWEB’s Partners in Education program as well as a generous contribution from Architecture Professor Emeritus, John Reynolds.
Project Documents
EDC letter to EMU board February 2, 2004
Original proposal: introduction - phase 1 - phase 2
