A year has passed since project director Jocelyn Eisenberg and project manager Ben Gates, students from the Ecological Design Center, developed the idea of a solar-powered EMU. The ASUO supported the idea with $100,000 in funds awarded through a “Bucks for Ducks” contest, and the first phase of installation was completed over the summer.
The project is set up in a series of three phases. The primary phase consisted of placing three solar towers on the EMU’s southeast balcony. EDC members have now begun the second phase of the project.
Flat cells will be put on the EMU roof for the second part of the project, but it is unclear where the panels can be installed. EMU Director Dusty Miller said the project may wait for further developments of the EMU Master Plan, or it may be possible to put the cells on the Oregon Daily Emerald roof.
“Originally the (photovoltaic array) cell was supposed to be installed on the ballroom roof, but the roof did not meet city codes,” Miller said.
The flat PV cells will be larger than the existing panels on the southeast balcony. Once the first two phases are complete, the solar cells are expected to produce 10 kilowatts of power.
“There is a meter on the pole that tells how much energy (the solar panel) is producing at that time of day,” EWEB energy management specialist Don Spiek said.
It is estimated that when the entire project is complete, the panels will produce about 4,000 watts of power annually. That represents only a small percentage of the total power the EMU uses, but EDC members feel confident that the panels will significantly reduce energy costs over the next few years. Furthermore, selling power back to EWEB will generate money for student funds in the future.
“They hope to increase funding (for phase two), but money is still remaining from the initial installment,” Miller said.
Steve Musser, spokesman for Energy Service — the company that helped design and install the panels — said that roughly $30,000 was spent on the first set of panels. The second phase of the project is expected to exceed the $100,000 budget and will need more financial support from sponsors.
An interactive monitoring kiosk will be set up in the EMU Concourse. The kiosk is intended to raise awareness about the EMU system, solar technology and renewable energy.
The final phase of the project calls for installing a solar electric array on the EMU. This includes solar panels, panel mounts, charge controller, monitor and all the necessary wiring and fusing.
Work on the project is expected to pick up again this week as Jocelyn Eisenberg and EDC students have returned.
“(Phase two) should be complete by the end of January,” Miller said.
Michelle Meuwissen is a freelance writer for the Emerald.