Summer, 2013 saw the addition of a large number of solar panels which were installed on a hillside just north of the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) campus. These panels are the latest cost-savings project by the campus to become more energy efficient and to rely on the natural resources that exist. OIT also has the distinction of being a geothermally-heated campus, the only one of its kind in the world that relies on geothermal energy to heat its entire campus. A large geothermal plant nearby taps into hot springs deep below the ground surface to tap into the extremely hot water and steam that naturally occur underground. This hot water and steam are converted to energy to provide heat for the campus.
The newly-installed solar panels compliment the geothermal energy to provide electrical energy in addition to the heat energy that the geothermal hot springs provide. This makes for a very self-sufficient campus, energy-wise.
I located an online article that highlights this solar project and reads:
Oregon Institute of Technology already has geothermal installed and by adding a field of made-in-Oregon solar panels, the school will run 100% on renewable energy produced on site.
Their Klamath Falls campus is currently the only university in the world that is completely heated by geothermal water, and it has the first university-based geothermal combined heat and power plant in the world.
Oregon's Solar by Degrees program is responsible for the conversion, which is also adding solar at Oregan State and Eastern Oregon University. 4.9 MW of solar are on 27 acres.
Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Western Oregon University and Southern Oregon University plan to follow.
All the solar panels are Oregon-made by SolarWorld, which has its US headquarters in Hillsboro, and the inverters are made by PV Powered, base in Bend. Oregon Electric of Portland will be the installation contractor.
Renewable Energy Development, based in Utah, is getting $13.5 million in state energy tax credits, plus federal credits, to build the systems, which cost about $27 million.
"Higher education has a distinctive role to play in helping the state transition to more sustainable energy sources, while using this as a vehicle for advancing energy research, engaging and training students in new technologies, and overall being a change agent and model for sustainable practices," says Bob Simonton, assistant vice chancellor for Oregon University System capital programs. "All of our campuses have been involved in reducing our carbon footprint for many years, including our commitment to green building, purchase of clean energy credits, major campus-wide recycling, and support for mass transit usage for our students and community."
My posted coordinates place you at a pullout along College Way where you can stop and admire all the panels. There are many of them and they grab one's attention from a long distance away.