Foothill’s Solar Voltaic Array — Largest in the South Bay!
by Scott Lam, Sustainability Intern
SOME QUICK SOLAR STATS:
- 3 PV Installations on campus totaling 1.5MW (Mega-watts)
- Generates 2 million kWh / year
- 1000 tons of CO2 avoided yearly
- Produces 80–120% of our peak load during the day
Imagine a spring filled with dark green grass and vividly blooming flowers.
A summer of velvety white clouds gliding across a dark blue sky.
A fall with light winds carrying away newly fallen leaves. A winter coated in a glistening white snow.
This future we envision is slowly being wiped away by the poor choices and actions we make everyday. With fossil fuel pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the rise, it is logical to switch to a clean alternative source of energy to achieve a sustainable future. Creating a sustainable future is not just about efficiently producing economical needs, but protecting and improving the well being of our environment as well.
A major challenge that a college faces is producing the amount of energy demanded by the campus in a cost-effective, yet clean and energy efficient way.
One very effective solution for Foothill has been the addition of our solar parking system. This system uses solar panels to generate energy from the sun, while providing protection and shade for vehicles. In addition, the incorporation of microturbines with a heat recovery system further helps decrease our consumption of outside energy.
With its energy efficiency and self — generation capacity, Foothill has been able to effectively reduce its environmental footprint. The college now uses approximately the same amount of energy per square-foot used in the 1990s, but with a smaller GHG footprint.
Robert Cormia, nanotechnology instructor at Foothill College, explains how these systems help achieve this, but also emphasizes the importance of energy efficiency, an often overlooked piece of the green puzzle. Professor Cormia explains that energy management systems really deserve much of the credit.
According to Cormia, right now planet earth is out of ‘energy balance’ with an extra 1.2 watts per square meter of energy being absorbed as a result of added Green House Gases in the atmosphere. The planet must warm up to at least 0.6 C to reach equilibrium. If we do not reduce our consumption of energy and lessen our GHG emissions, the planet will continue to be out of energy balance and as a result continue to get warmer. Cormia states that there are two important steps to become more sustainable: increasing energy efficiency and decreasing the carbon intensity of that energy (through the use of low and near zero carbon intensive energy such as natural gas and solar PV).
Reducing energy usage may be key to creating a sustainable future, but, it is equally important to produce energy as cleanly and efficiently as possible. As Cormia has explained, without these measures, earth will constantly be chasing an unattainable equilibrium point, and literally ‘cooking the biosphere’. Foothill has made some great strides towards generating its own renewable energy, and is working on improving and more effectively managing that energy .
Scott Lam is a student and Intern for the Foothill College Center for a Sustainable Future
