Author: Michelle L. Park & Larissa Saco
Since physics professor Daniel Snowden-Ifft began to work with the idea during the Spring of 2009, utilizing solar power on campus has been a widely discussed and debated topic. Students, professors and faculty members in support of the project have dedicated extensive amounts of time toward the planning and realization of the construction of solar panels on Mount Fiji.
Though most of the Occidental community seems to be in favor of the solar array initiative, bringing panels to Occidental’s campus has been anything but a smooth process. The administration’s decision to take control of the program was particularly detrimental to the project’s progression. Now, however, execution of the plan is finally becoming a reality as the city and the community have approved the plans.
In the spring of 2009, Snowden-Ifft joined Occidental’s student- and faculty-organized Sustainability Group and became chairman of its Solar Subcommittee, a group of staff members who contribute a large amount of their time to the solar panel initiative. After a slow start, the design of the panels was finally approved by the Group at their third board meeting on April 10, 2010.
Numerous students, including those in Professor Gretchen North’s California Environment Semester biology class, have invested much of their time this semester advocating the implementation of solar energy in the Occidental College community.
North required her students to conduct an experiment that related to, and could possibly create support for, the argument to install the panels on Mount Fiji.
The proposed placement of the solar panels was initially met with opposition, due to the potential affects the construction of the panels could have on the biodiversity of the area.
However, this risk was refuted by the class’s measurements of the region’s Simpson’s diversity index, a tool used to measure the variety of life in a given area. The experiment entailed collecting data on the species inhabiting the native area where the panels will be installed.
According to the experiment’s conclusions, Mount Fiji demonstrated little to no visible wildlife worth sustaining. The report mentions that Fiji currently harbors only masses of unwanted weeds.
As a result of this fact, no wildlife would be at risk if the solar panels were installed in the surrounding area. The reports of this project were a positive development for the group in favor of installing the panels at Occidental.
With this obstacle overcome, students and faculty members seem to be unanimously supporting the construction of the solar panels.
Kaila Chan (first-year), a student from North’s biology class said, “Solar panels would be a positive influence in the Oxy community because it will diminish the surrounding pollution and benefit Oxy’s finances.”
She continued to demonstrate her enthusiasm as she elaborated on the project.
“I generally like the idea of the panels mainly because they use renewable energy as opposed to using harmful resources such as oil,” she said.
Even with evidence of the panel region’s low biodiversity, however, board members were wary of the structure’s overbearing aesthetic impact on Mount Fiji. They were worried about how the presence of the large solar panels might affect the College’s relationship with the surrounding community.
At the onset of the planning phase, residents from around the Fiji area voiced concerns about potential glare from the panels onto their property, especially in the late afternoon.
Briana Romero (first-year) also a former student of North, is apprehensive about the aesthetics of the panels as well.
“Although we as a whole will be using more renewable energy instead of receiving energy from pollutants like coal, I think that the panels may not be aesthetically pleasing to the eye,” she said.
The panel’s layout was carefully designed with detailed computer modeling and was approved during the initial planning in order to avoid issues with their presence on the iconic hill.
To address other worries about the visual components of the project, Snowden-Ifft analyzed the areas where the solar panels could potentially reflect sunlight directly into the neighborhood or onto campus.
The calculations revealed exactly where the light would hit. From this data, the Solar Subcommittee of Occidental’s Sustainability Group was able to develop solutions to potential panel glare.
One suggestion posited to diminish the adverse effects of the array on the Eagle Rock community is to plant trees near windows where the glares might be most prominent.
Faculty members and students have devoted nearly 100 hours of work to help the project move forward.
Snowden-Ifft has been dedicated to the project since its infancy. All of this dedication became irrelevant, however, when the administrators decided to take over the project after it had become a campus topic significant enough that the administration felt the need to adopt it as their explicit responsibility.
Shut away behind closed doors that not even Snowden-Ifft could open, the project has been dealt with privately by a new set of leaders.
Shortly after this shift in leadership, many of the original advocates of the solar power implementation project have preemptively concluded that the administration decided to discontinue work on the project.
“A huge number from the Oxy community is expectantly waiting for the arrays, but the few who are in control of the current project seem to make any excuse to avoid the implementation process,” Snowden-Ifft said.
After his heavy involvement since its inception, Snowden-Ifft is not concerned with how it is currently being handled.
“To me, this is tragic because we spent close to $100,000 and a lot of time, effort and capital have gotten the project to where it is now,” he said.
In an attempt to dispel criticism of the timeliness since the administration takeover, President Veitch emphasized the hurdles inherent to such a major project.
“We have filed and are now waiting for city and community approvals,” he said.
The lack of communication between the administration and the partners of the solar project have been addressed, and progress is currently underway for the panel’s implementation.
“There isn’t much conflict. We are very close to deciding on a panel—there is a bit of disagreement over that one—and then signing the contract to build the array,” Snowden-Ifft said recently.
College Vice President for Administration and Finance Mike Groener currently heads the solar array project on Mount Fiji. He could not be reached for comment.
“Sierra,” a popular magazine that covers the scenic and natural values of environmentalists, ranks Occidental at 149th out of 162 colleges on their “Coolest Schools” list.
The rankings are based on energy efficiency and energy supply, among other subjects. Energy Supply for Occidental College sinks as low as a 2 rating, while Energy Efficiency takes on an average 7 rating.
According to “Sierra,” Occidental uses approximately 90 percent coal and only five percent solar power to produce electricity.
If the solar panels are eventually implemented, Occidental may see a sharp increase in energy usage rankings and continue its initiative to become a notably sustainable and green campus. •
CORRECTION:
Since the printing of this article, certain aspects of the article must be clarified.
The Occidental Weekly incorrectly reported the status of the College’s proposed solar array project in its Feb. 2 news story. The project has not yet been submitted to the surrounding community or to the city of Los Angeles, and has not been approved by either. The story also mischaracterized the administration’s role in the project. Occidental’s Sustainability Group is chaired by Michael Stephens, associate vice president fo
r facilities management, and administrators have worked closely with faculty and students since the idea was first proposed by Prof. Snowden-Ifft.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
