Construction underway on SOU’s latest solar projects

(Ashland, Ore.) - Southern Oregon University is making headway in its march toward becoming the first public university in the U.S. to produce all of the daytime electricity used on its campus, with more than $5 million in recent state, federal and student funding and multiple solar projects underway.

SOU completed a rooftop solar installation on Lithia Motors Pavilion in July, with the project adding a 241 kilowatt solar array to the 63 kilowatt array already located on the athletic pavilion's roof - making it the largest rooftop solar array in Ashland. SOU's next project - a solar array and battery storage bank - will begin this month at The Hawk Dining Commons. That project will enable SOU to support community resilience by providing 24/7 power at The Hawk, if needed, in the event of an emergency.

Other upcoming solar projects include installation of four more rooftop arrays on the SOU Art Building, Theatre Building, Marion Ady Building and Central Hall. Also in the works are projects in parking lots adjacent to Lithia Motors Pavilion and the Computer Science Building, in which solar arrays will be installed on raised "canopies" above parking spaces. The second of those projects will include another battery storage bank in the Computer Science Building.

"We are looking ahead to our next phases of funding and excited about this journey for revenue diversification, low-carbon energy production and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," said Becs Walker, the university's director of sustainability. "At the same time, we recognize the importance of energy efficiency and are monitoring all buildings to identify potential improvements. A recent renovation project on Britt Hall improved our energy efficiency across campus."

The recent and upcoming projects have been funded so far by a total of $3 million from the Oregon Department of Energy's Community Renewable Energy Grant Program, $800,000 through a legislative allocation for Sustainability Funding for Oregon's Technical and Regional Universities, and $51,000 from the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University's Green Fund. Another $2 million that was appropriated by Congress as part of a December 2022 spending bill is also earmarked for the current projects.

SOU is continuing to work through details of the federal appropriation's funding mechanism, and is using the state grants to maintain the pace of its solar build-out.

Construction on the current round of projects began last spring with the installation of inverters and electronics at Lithia Motors Pavilion, and the installation of solar panels in the summer under a contract with Ashland's True South Solar and its subcontractor, Welburn Electric of Phoenix.

The university anticipates generating 100% of its own electricity by 2035. SOU is focused on being entrepreneurial in its approaches to revenue generation, and on energy independence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its eventual energy independence will save the university at least $750,000 per year in utility costs, and each solar array that comes on-line results in an incremental reduction of the overall energy bill for campus.

SOU has 10 existing solar arrays, plus one at the Higher Education Center in Medford and a pole-mounted array installed in 2022 by a nonprofit on land leased from the university.

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