BY: BRADY W MOORE
A section of roof on top of Boise State University’s Micron Business and Economics Building will soon harness the power of the sun.
New solar panels being installed this month will have the capacity to produce 25 kilowatts of power, or the equivalent of energy used by about five households. That is enough to take the majority of two large areas of the building — the Skaggs Hall of Learning and the Imagination Lab — off of the power grid during peak hours. In the future, additional solar panels could be added, bringing the total power produced to 65 kilowatts, the equivalent of roughly 12 households.
Ken Petersen, dean of the College of Business and Economics, said he is excited about the opportunity to continue the university’s investment in sustainable power.
“The Micron Business and Economics Building utilizes geothermal energy for heating and cooling, ample natural light, green roof technology, the most efficient hardware and more,” Petersen said. “To add solar power generation to this list is fantastic and in direct support of our college’s strategic priority on environmental sustainability. This addition will keep our innovative building as a model of environmental stewardship.”
See a video of the installation of COBE’s new solar panels.
There are a multitude of reasons for the university to utilize solar power according to Kevin Satterlee, chief operating officer at Boise State.
“Although this project may help offset energy costs for the university, there are much more important reasons as to why we chose to do this project. This project offers wonderful education and research opportunities for our students and faculty, as well as supporting our campus initiative in becoming more sustainable.”