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Solar panel talks heat up
Future of sustainable campus brightens with rooftop power proposal
By Josie Klemaier
jklemaie@mscd.edu

Photo by Heather A. Longway-Burke • longway@mscd.edu Darren Karopczyc, a representative for 3 Phases Energy Services, sits at the company’s table at the Sustainability Fair held Nov. 13 at the Tivoli. 3 Phases Energy Services is joining CoPIRG student chapters and Xcel Energy in proposing that solar panels be put on the rooftops of buildings at Auraria.

Auraria, already the No. 1 purchaser of renewable energy credits among Colorado higher education institutions, could soon also lead the way with the largest solar installation in the country outside of California.

“We are trying to get sustainability worked into the master plan,” said Shaun Lally, chair of both the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board and SACAB’s renewable energy committee. “We want students to know that this isn’t just a one-time thing,” he said regarding the solar project presented to the Auraria Board of Directors for approval on Nov. 15.

Renewable energy comes from sources that cannot be depleted, such as wind and sun. Sustainability refers to the consumption of renewable energy and resources in ways that yield minimal pollution and byproducts.

Representatives of 3 Phases Energy Services, a Los Angeles-based company that provides renewable energy options for businesses, institutions and nonprofits, presented the 20-year project to the board. If approved, the project would be the fifth largest in the country. The result of the proposal was not known as of press time.

According to the proposal, 3 Phases would supply installation and maintenance of solar panels on the rooftops of four Auraria buildings, with none of the costs passed on to Auraria. Xcel Energy, Auraria’s energy provider, will then charge the Auraria Higher Education Center a fixed rate of 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. This amount is above the current unfixed commercial rate of approximately 3 cents per kWh; however, with the predicted rise in the cost of energy over the next 20 years, the fixed rate is expected to save Auraria money.

This is not predicted to happen until 12 years into the 20-year project. In the first year, Auraria will pay $25,000 more than the current commercial rate, but the cost will not be passed on to the students, said Andrew Pattison, Wirth chair in environmental and community development policy at UCD. Money for the energy will be budgeted by AHEC.

If Auraria were to wait and come back to the project five years in the future, it would cost more, said Tim Derrick, the associate partnerships manager for 3 Phases’ green certificates division.

“A good analogy would be holding out to buy the next latest computer,” he said.

The project came to Auraria in August, when the campus was chosen by Xcel Energy to fulfill requirements of Amendment 37, passed by Colorado voters in 2004. The amendment requires that 10 percent of electricity consumed in Colorado must be produced from renewable sources by 2015. Eighteen other states in the country, including California and New York, have similar standards.

Possible buildings to house the solar panels include the Plaza Building and the library. However, no final decision will be made until the project is approved. Auraria rooftops have little equipment on them and offer wide, unshaded spots ideal for solar panels, Derrick said. “The rooftops here (at Auraria) are the best,” Derrick said.

The student governments of UCD, CCD and Metro gave their approval of the project, and approximately 95 percent of students polled in a recent survey conducted by SACAB supported the continuance of a Clean Energy student fee.

“It’s a win-win situation for all of us,” said Gary Lefmann, a Metro SGA senator. “It requires little from students, and it shows we can make wise investments in clean energy and save money.”

Student support is something that Pattison, Auraria’s Colorado Public Interest Research Group student chapter, 3 Phases and Xcel Energy representatives brought to the board as a major factor in their decision.

“Students are in favor of this,” said Lindsey Gavioli, state board chair of CoPIRG student chapters. “In the end, if the project passes, it’s because students wanted it.”

SACAB, CoPIRG student chapter and the Student Activities Offices from UCD, CCD and Metro sponsored the first Sustainable Campus Fair on Nov. 13 to educate students on the advantages of renewable energy and sustainability.

The Sustainable Campus Fair included back-to-back showings of “An Inconvenient Truth,” a documentary produced by former Vice President Al Gore about global warming and its predicted effects and a panel discussion, “The Effects of Global Warming and Climate Change on the Planet,” moderated by Gary Hart, a former Colorado senator and University of Colorado Wirth Chair professor. Representatives from Environment Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, Richard Wagner, a Metro professor of Climatology, and Rafael Moreno, a UCD professor of environmental science voiced their opinions and answered audience questions.