If the plans of four University students go as expected, the EMU may soon be the largest solar energy consumer in Oregon.
Jocelyn Eisenberg and Ben Gates, the winners of last year’s ASUO “Bucks for Ducks” contest, have teamed up with fellow architecture students Matt Larson and Jess Ellingson to design a set of solar panels they hope will produce more than 30 kilowatts of energy per hour.
Eisenberg said the group set that goal in order to surpass the 30-kilowatt output of an array of solar panels operated by the city of Ashland. Those panels are believed to be the highest solar energy-producing system in the state, Oregon Office of Energy spokesman Christopher Dymond said.
Last Friday, Eisenberg and Ellingson met with University professors, students and administrators involved with the project to discuss the design and location of the panels, which they expect to cover about 3,000 square feet.
The ASUO sponsored the “Bucks for Ducks” contest last spring to generate student ideas on how to spend a $100,000 surplus of student fee money.
But in order to build a system that will produce more than 30 kilowatts of solar energy, Eisenberg said they will have to raise an additional $150,000, which they hope to obtain from corporate donors.
The Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) already has offered to donate a portion of the system design costs and purchase power produced by the solar panels.
Eisenberg said if they reach their goal, the solar panels could produce as much as 10 percent of the energy the EMU uses. Considering all the energy used by the EMU — which provides power for air-conditioning units, commercial food ovens, computers and many other energy-draining resources — that is a significant amount, she said.
“The EMU is extremely consumptive,” she said.

While a 30-kilowatt system would produce more than enough energy to power a single residence, it would account for only “a small percentage” of the energy used by the EMU, said EWEB energy management specialist Steve Sills. But, he added, solar panels can last up to 30 years, and over time they may save the facility a considerable amount of money.
Possible sites for the solar panels proposed at the meeting included the roof of the EMU Ballroom, the front amphitheater and the landing outside the ballroom, Eisenberg said.
While considering potential locations for the panels, the group discussed not only the intensity of the sunlight at different spots on the building but also whether the panels would attract the attention of building users.
“The big goal is to awaken interest in students and get them interested in learning about renewable resources,” she said.
The south-facing ballroom roof is in many ways ideal for generating solar power, she said, but one disadvantage of the site is that it would be less visible than an array of freestanding panels at one of the proposed outside locations.
She said the group has also talked about ways to incorporate education into the panels themselves, such as installing a laptop computer hookup into the pole which will support the panels. Students could then use this hookup to connect to the Internet and view information about solar energy, she said.
Ellingson said the group will request proposals from contractors on the project in the fall, and they hope to have the panels in place by April 2002.