New Solar Arrays Moving Southern Oregon University Toward Self-Sufficiency
Southern Oregon University is taking big strides toward becoming the first public university in the United States to produce all of the daytime electricity used on its campus.
SOU signed a $1.56 million contract this fall to install new solar arrays and a battery storage facility, with onsite construction work set to begin this winter.
The new installations on Lithia Motors Pavilion and The Hawk Dining Commons will increase SOU's photovoltaic output by 86% -- from the current 455 kilowatts to a total of 848 kilowatts.
The two new solar facilities -- combined with existing arrays -- will enable the university to generate just over 12% of the electricity it uses. The contract with Ashland's True South Solar also includes a battery charge storage bank that will be built adjacent to The Hawk, enabling SOU to support community resilience by providing power in The Hawk in the event of an emergency.
The university anticipates generating 100% of its own electricity by 2033, and is already planning subsequent rounds of solar expansion.
SOU has been awarded $1 million in each of the past two years from the Oregon Department of Energy's Community Renewable Energy Grant Program, plus it received a $2 million appropriation from Congress last December.
Posted on 11/16/23 6:44AM by Sam Marsh
