Southern Utah sunshine to help electrify the SUU campus

Southern Utah University plans to put some of its Cedar City sunshine to work as the school recently installed 35 solar panels to help sustain energy on campus.

A Blue Sky grant through Rocky Mountain Power helped cover costs for the project, which will eventually feed two 4,500-watt inverters that direct power to the university.

Facilities management officials at the school estimate that power generated by the new panels could run 4.6 average homes for 50 years based on average household usage of 3,500 kilowatt-hours per year.

"These new solar panels will help defray rising costs by capturing the abundance of our solar-generating days," said David Tanner, associate vice president for facilities management at SUU. He said his team is on the lookout for more ways to reduce energy consumption on the 112-acre campus.

The grant, he said is a "spring-board for more research and conservation opportunities."

The 6kW photovoltaic system, placed on top of the facilities building west of campus, produces power through 175-watt solar panels that are never shaded. The location allows for at least eight hours of sun every day that it is sunny, which is typically 256 days a year.

According to the Blue Sky grant program, solar power conversion remains one of the most efficient and affordable energy alternatives available now. It reduces energy consumption elsewhere and saves money for its users, as well as diminishing the institution's carbon footprint, which is the overall goal, according to Tanner.

"Innovation in the use of renewable energy represents an area where SUU can and should lead out," said SUU Vice President Greg Stauffer. He said that implementation of the panels and other "cutting-edge technology," will over time, reduce the financial burden to the state.

He said the school is also forging ahead with projects dealing with water conservation, such as new xeriscaped areas dotting campus, as well as recycling and exploration for alternative transportation methods. In the past year, teams have also planted 80 new trees on campus.

SUU's efforts are in line with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s May 2006 edict for the state to increase energy efficiency 20 percent by 2015.

Stauffer said the school's climate commitment is only in its early stages, as wind-generating units are in the works as well as open communication for more initiatives regarding alternative energy sources.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com