Achieving Sustainability Through Rooftop Solar Electricity Generation on the College Campus: A Case Study

Abstract

Sustainability in higher education is most directly achieved through implementation of on-site and off-site sustainable initiatives coupled with better participation through increasing awareness of the student body and faculty. This increased awareness is necessary to better commit universities to this course of action as, currently, universities have no set standard for the evaluation of their sustainable goals and priorities. While some universities have agreed to reach climate neutrality by a set date, there is no effective means of measuring how this goal can actually be reached. Without the requisite physical measurements, sustainability maintains its status as a brochure buzzword without any accountability to the real world. For a specific example of a physical implementation of sustainability, here we examine the case of the potential for rooftop solar-generated electricity as a direct means of offsetting carbon-based electricity generation. Our project is to provide campus sustainability leaders a tool kit that allows them to explore (a) the physical resources on their campus that can be used to produce renewable electricity (e.g., wind, solar, biomass) and (b) produce various financial models involving student green fees, renewable energy certificates, and partnerships with local utilities. Our goal is to provide tailored energy profiles to specific campuses to determine their ultimate potential for renewable electricity generation and to offer several physical and financial pathways toward reaching this potential. Through our website, sustainability planners can statistically assess their own university in comparison to similar schools and discover innovate ways to reach their own sustainability goals.