The College of Washington is powering up its imaginative and prescient for a brighter, extra sustainable future with a newly accomplished photo voltaic cover put in in a sprawling parking zone north of Husky Stadium.
The 84-kilowatt photo voltaic array is paired with Stage 2 EV charging that may accommodate 20 autos concurrently. The $3.7 million challenge contains electrical infrastructure to assist the longer term set up of panels able to practically 30 instances extra energy technology — as much as 2.5 megawatts. That’s sufficient capability to energy roughly 2,000 properties.
The photo voltaic cover is a pilot challenge supporting the UW’s objectives to chop its carbon footprint, mentioned Mark Huppert, interim director of UW Transportation Companies.
“Situated on the positioning of the previous Montlake landfill, the pilot demonstrates how the land will be put to work to realize extra sustainable outcomes,” Huppert mentioned by way of e-mail.
Undertaking companions embrace Sea Con as the final contractor and Prime Electrical as {the electrical} contractor. The cover system was fabricated by Trinity Constructions, which has since rebranded as Trinity Vitality.
The set up is related to electrical grids powering the Metropolis of Seattle and the UW’s campus. The power to generate power onsite can curb the college’s reliance on the utility grid whereas lowering the impacts of energy outages and fluctuating electrical energy prices.
“Producing solar energy from a parking zone could sound modest, however the strategic worth is big,” mentioned Darin Leonard, president of Trinity Vitality, in a assertion.
The concept for the challenge grew out of a collaboration between the coed group UW Photo voltaic; Anne Eskridge, the retired director of UW Transportation Companies; and Jan Whittington, director of the UW’s City Infrastructure Lab.
The college is presently drafting its 2050 Sustainability Motion Plan, which incorporates the long-term enlargement of the parking zone photo voltaic canopies.
The UW Photo voltaic college students “will proceed to assist the efforts to realize the imaginative and prescient of a whole build-out,” Huppert mentioned.
The challenge was funded by UW Transportation Companies, Seattle Metropolis Gentle and Washington state’s Local weather Dedication Act, administered via the Washington State Division of Commerce’s electrical car charging program.
Editor’s be aware: Story up to date to supply further info on challenge companions.
