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UT to dedicate Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation
By Matt Lockwood : September 21st, 2009The University of Toledo will officially dedicate the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation Monday, Sept. 21, at 10:30 a.m. as it takes its initial history-making steps toward developing a zero carbon footprint campus.
Workers installed a solar array last week on the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation.
The ceremony will occur in the shadow of a newly installed 100-foot wind turbine and near a new 10-kilowatt solar array from Xunlight by the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Parkside Boulevard.
Remarks will be heard from UT President Lloyd Jacobs; Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur; James Tuschman of the Ohio Board of Regents; Dr. Rosemary Haggett, UT Main Campus provost and executive vice president for academic affairs; Rich Housh, president and CEO of PlugSmart; and Greg Jarosinski, CEO of Constellation Energy Projects and Services Group Inc.
Olivia Summons, chair of the UT Board of Trustees, will read a proclamation dedicating the campus.
“I believe the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation will play a significant role in moving the world away from its dependence on fossil fuels, as well as serve as an extremely valuable resource for our students,” Jacobs said.
The Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation will serve as a hands-on alternative energy laboratory used for teaching, research and demonstration, as well as to generate energy and reduce the University’s carbon footprint.
“The goal is to power the entire Scott Park Campus through alternative means, as well as to deliver excess energy to the power grid for use at times when there isn’t enough sun or wind,” said Chuck Lehnert, vice president for facilities and construction. “The end result is that the Scott Park Campus will have a neutral carbon footprint.”
A larger, 1.12-megawatt solar array of First Solar panels will be installed in two fields at the southwest corner of Parkside Boulevard and Hill Avenue near the UT soccer field. This solar field and the wind turbine are owned and operated by Constellation Energy Projects and Services Group of Baltimore.
UT, a national leader in solar energy research, is the only university in the country to commit an entire campus to advancing renewable, alternative and sustainable energies. Proposed projects will include work with wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, energy storage, electric transportation, and transformational grid analytics and modeling.
Data from the projects will be streamed on the Web, allowing companies to test new technologies and students to study alternative energy in real time.
In addition to the many educational opportunities, the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation is expected to foster regional economic development through commercialization and business incubation efforts.
PlugSmart Solutions of Columbus, Ohio, is serving as a consultant in the transformation of Scott Park Campus.
PlugSmart is performing an energy audit of the entire University to find ways to conserve energy, and it is working to line up financing and partnerships for the Scott Park initiative.
Tags: Sustainability
