New Solar Covered Parking Array Opens at WSU

OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University took another step in its goal of becoming a sustainable, carbon-neutral campus by installing a solar covered array over the W10 parking lot, on the northwest side of the Ogden campus. The parking array opened to the campus community just in time for the start of the new semester.

“We are very excited about the first solar covered parking structure at Weber State,” said Mark Halverson, Facilities & Campus Planning associate vice president. “The location in the W10 lot makes a clear and visible statement about the sustainable values the campus holds. The new solar array is a significant step forward toward our carbon neutral goal, and we hope it is the first of many similar installations.”

Weber State broke ground in June on the solar array, which is the first of its kind on any of the university’s campuses. As an added benefit, the array has turned W10 into a covered-parking lot, protecting vehicles from the elements. The lot has approximately 100 parking spaces available for students, faculty and staff.

The array houses 550 kilowatts of solar panels that feed directly into Lindquist Hall and the campus electrical grid. The power produced by the array is expected to offset 80% of Lindquist Hall’s energy consumption.

According to Justin Owen, WSU energy manager, the university hopes to build additional solar-covered parking arrays every two to three years, with plans to eventually have 10 arrays total across the Ogden campus.

“Solar is a major piece of the university's plan to reach carbon neutrality, and this array will help us with that goal,” Owen said. “It will not only save money on WSU's utility bills; it will also reduce WSU’s environmental impact. Since we completely covered the lot, it has the added benefit of providing better quality parking and allowing the university to save money on pavement maintenance and snow removal.”

Weber State currently has approximately 6,500 solar panels in use across all of its campuses, and the new array adds almost 1,400 panels to that number.

In 2007, Weber State set the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The university is set to reach carbon neutrality 10 years ahead of the original goal. Since 2007, WSU has reduced its consumption of electricity by 32%, natural gas consumption by 30% and total greenhouse gas emissions by 22%. WSU has reduced energy costs by 47% in the process, saving more than $13.6 million in the last 10 years.

For photos, visit the following link.

smugmug.com/app/photos?searchText=solar%20parking

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

Author:

Shaylee Stevens, Office of Marketing & Communications
801-626-7948 • shayleestevens@weber.edu

Contact:

Allison Barlow Hess, Public Relations director
801-626-7948 • ahess@weber.edu