A small tract of land in the southwest corner of the former Horace Williams Airport property is slated to house the University’s latest renewable energy project, this one powered by the sun.
A small tract of land in the southwest corner of the former Horace Williams Airport property is slated to house the University’s latest renewable energy project, this one powered by the sun.
Plans are being finalized for a state-of-the-art solar farm on the 2.7-acre site, combining photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity with a battery storage system for any electricity that is not immediately consumed. The energy stored by the batteries can be discharged as needed, either very slowly or as quickly as within four hours.
The solar + storage project will offset some of the University’s energy purchases and advance its goal to become greenhouse gas neutral. The reductions in both energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions are key to the Three Zeros initiative, which aims to reduce the University’s environmental footprint through net zero water usage, zero waste to landfills and net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
The solar panels will help power the buildings along Airport Drive, explained Brad Ives, associate vice chancellor for Campus Enterprises. At its peak, he said, the solar output could handle about a third of the load for that area on a given day, which would decrease the electricity that had to be purchased from Duke Energy.
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