HSU is installing 300 kilowatts of solar panels on the roof of the University Library and issuing a contract to install a demonstration 12.5 kilowatt photovoltaic panel system on the roof of the Old Music Building.
HSU expects to derive $36,000 in cost savings each year from the energy conservation effort.
The two installations, part of the California Solar Initiative, supplement two existing University projects, a small solar demonstration system at the Telonicher Marine Laboratory in Trinidad, Calif. that is a component of a hydrogen generation system, and a demonstration PV panel at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology.
The solar panels atop the Library will be installed, operated and maintained under a Sun Edison agreement with the CSU. Power will be sold to the campus under the pact.
Tim Moxon, Director of HSU Plant Operations, said the roof panels will offset 219 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.
The Old Music Building project is funded by the student-led, student-financed Humboldt Energy Independence Fund (HEIF) and stems from a proposal submitted by the Renewable Energy Student Union (RESU).
“Construction is scheduled to begin in a few months,” Moxon said, adding, “This is an outstanding proposal partnering students, contractors and the University.”
The contractor will be required to hire two to five paid student intern workers who are currently enrolled at HSU; the HEIF Committee will conduct the initial screening.
The building was chosen for its flat roof, which will allow student workers to carry out the installation safely. Further, the building’s solar window is considered one of the best on campus’s flat-roofed structures, providing superior solar exposure with little shading from trees or adjoining buildings. The HEIF installation has a projected life of 25 years.
The Humboldt State solar projects are fused with counterparts at 15 other CSU campuses to bring eight megawatts of green power on line, offsetting almost 9,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to mothballing almost 49,000 cars.
According to the Chancellor’s Office, the system-wide project ensures that more than 20 percent of all CSU power comes from green sources.