The 370 solar panels installed last month on the roof of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center for Innovation and Creativity will produce enough energy each year to power 20 medium-sized houses.
The new panels, each approximately 6 by 3 feet in size, total 100 kilowatts and are located at 1777 Exposition Drive in Boulder. They make the CINC building approximately 10 percent solar powered and add to a collection of hundreds of campus solar panels previously installed on the roofs of the Coors Events Center, the Housing System Maintenance Center, the Wolf Law Building, the chancellor's residence and the Mountain Research Station located 35 miles west of Boulder.
The latest project is financed by the Boulder-based Lighthouse Solar company, which will receive incentives offered by Xcel Energy, as well as a state tax credit. CU-Boulder will gain from additional alternative energy that contributes to its campus sustainability goals, and by moving toward fulfillment of Colorado Amendment 37, which mandates 20 percent use of renewable energy statewide by 2020.
"The university is not subject to tax; therefore, if we would have done this project on our own, we would have left a significant amount of tax credits on the table," said Moe Tabrizi, CU's energy conservation officer. "Another advantage is that at the end of seven years we will have the opportunity to buy the solar panels installed on CINC at a fraction of their original cost."
An additional 100 kilowatts worth of solar panels is slated for installation on the new Williams Village North residence hall by 2011, which will bring the campus total to 336 kilowatts of solar-generated power.
Workers install solar panels on the roof of the building which houses the University of Colorado Center for Innovation and Creativity in Boulder. (Photo by Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado)