University of Colorado gets Solar Array for Wolf Law Building

In the spring of 2005 at the University of Colorado (while I was studying there), students voted on the Sustainable CU Referendum which dedicates $2.80 per student per semester to implement on campus projects incorporating renewable energy, energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction, and other innovative projects to reduce the campus' impact on the climate and our environment.

Now that the vote has passed, decisions are being made as to where the money should go and one of the chosen projects is to put a 10 Kilowatt Solar Array onto the new Wolf Law Building (on the south end of campus near Kittredge residence halls, where I happened to be an RA for two years). While there is some dispute as to what part of the roof the panels should be placed on, in order to meet the aesthetic standard of the school while at the same time withstanding the elements of snow and wind and also to keeping the panels in view to have them act as a "billboard" for sustainable solar development, there is a plan coming together.

Part of the final plan is to build a steel lattice and mount the panels on a flat section of the roof of the Wolf Law building and then link the panels to kiosks within the school - displaying stats on how much energy is being generated. This way, the aesthetic piece of the puzzle is met but students still have an awareness as to the existence of solar power on the school. I would love to see other schools at the University of Colorado, including the LEEDs school of business which was just updated and renovated, add solar to their structures as well.

I have attached the complete proposal by ELS - the Environmental Law Society, to this entry here CU Wolf Law Solar Proposals.doc and more information can be found by visiting the CU Environmental website on Greening CU. Below are a few pictures of the Wolf Law building that will be receiving solar panels.

Photos by Jeff Goldberg/Esto from World Architecture News