Author: Eric Kleinsasser
Physics Professor Dan Snowden-Ifft offered a proposal to Occidental’s Sustainability Committee last week for the installation of solar panels on the campus to generate clean, renewable energy for the college. The Committee met on Tuesday in the Johnson Student Center to discuss Snowden-Ifft’s ideas and to address other issues relevant to promoting ecologically conscious practices on campus.
Currently on sabbatical, Snowden-Ifft has worked to put together a comprehensive assessment of the potential for solar panels at Occidental, taking into consideration efficiency, total and proportional production, architectural logistics, and financing. “I have taken a biased look at putting solar on the Oxy campus,” Snowden-Ifft said. “I am after a significant fraction of the electricity use on campus [to be from solar]; that’s my bias.”
Based on figures of recent annual energy consumption by the college, Snowden-Ifft suggested that Occidental needs to produce at least 14 million kilowatt-hours per year from various sources. As it is now, most of the energy used on campus is taken from the grid.
Utilizing Google Maps, Snowden-Ifft conducted an informal survey of the exposed regions on campus that might prove ideal sites for solar panels. Roof space was the first area he looked into, seeking out the largest flat roofs free of any significant infringing shade. He was drawn in particular to the gymnasium and library.
“Rush Gym is probably the biggest roof we have available to us,” Snowden-Ifft said. The gym’s roof has a total surface area of 13,890 square feet. In addition to several of the residence halls, he was attracted also to the over 5.5 thousand square foot roof of the old library, because of the lack of inhibiting ventilation hardware. “The Old Library is a spectacular spot-there’s absolutely nothing up there,” he said.
According to Snowdne-Ifft, shade is definitely an issue in planning solar panels on the roofs of buildings. He confessed that trees became very frustrating obstacles during his search for ideal roof space, an irony he said was very distressing.
Although the amount of roof space on campus limits the feasibility of solar panels to provide a majority of the college’s electricity, there are also several ideal parking lots and a field on the edge of Avenue 51 that Snowden-Ifft thought had potential. If all of the proposed sites were utilized with high efficiency solar cells capable of yielding 17.4 watts per square foot, Occidental would be able to produce 51% of its electricity this way.
Weather and season, among other factors, have an effect on the overall production of energy from solar cells. “One thing you learn pretty quickly is that the sun [doesn’t] shine all day,” Snowden-Ifft said. He also pointed out that some of the older roofs might need buffering, or complete renovation in some cases. Even with these issues, Snowden-Ifft emphasized that the prospect of becoming a more sustainable campus was the primary goal of his proposal, and could be attained, variable weather aside. Such an accomplishment would also be worth investment, he said.
Accompanying Snowden-Ifft’s proposal was a financial assessment of a potential solar project. Although costs associated with installment are steep, the solar cells would gradually pay themselves off by providing free electricity for the campus. In addition, a rebate from the Department of Water and Power (DWP) would greatly reduce some of the initial cost. “We would get back from the DWP 7.8 million dollars-up front,” Snowden-Ifft said. “We would get 83% off-when was the last time you went to the store and they told you could get 83% off?”
Additional insights were provided by other members of the committee. “[CSUN] used a student engineering program to build their solar panels, and they saved that way,” Heidi Bass, an Occidental alumnus working for the Department of Water and Power, said.Snowden-Ifft acknowledged that financing the project could be the most challenging step, but expressed hope that the college would be able to fund it.
Aside from administrative support financially, student enthusiasm for a solar energy project was a benefit Snowden-Ifft expressed hope for in his presentation. At least a few students have reacted positively to the proposal.
“I think it is an issue that should be taken up by the students and the administration,” Brent Magnusson (first-year) said. “It should be a joint project from the administration’s perspective-it would attract prospective students.”
Will Hollingsworth (first-year) expressed a belief that the primary importance of such a project would go beyond financial payoff. “It’s not about saving money, it’s about saving the environment,” Hollingsworth said.
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