What Can You do to Help the U go GREEN???
Solar Ivy Coming to Campus with Your Help
Junior Tom Melburn has a dream for a solar campus
Solar Ivy: A Green RevolutionOne Leaf at a Time
Utah has more sunny days than almost any other state. So, many of us often ask, how can we turn all that sun into healthy, sustainable electricity? University of Utah student, Tom Melburn not only wondered about this, he decided to do something about it. In April of 2011, Tom was awarded a Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund (SCIF) grant to install the first array of Solar Ivy in the country, on the University of Utah campus.
Tom’s Solar Ivy project will be the first student-initiated solar energy project on campus and will join the solar arrays on the Sill Center and the University Services Building. Tom chose Solar Ivy over traditional photovoltaics for the product's innovation and aethetics. Solar Ivy is a photovoltaic technology that combines form with function. The ivy is made up of individual leaves that are united with efficient thin film solar panels. As an added benefit, Solar Ivy is completely recyclable and contains no toxic materials. Once installed, the colorful array will generate electricity, tie it back into the grid, and display the results on a monitor in the building.
The University of Utah is already making efforts toward generating its own sustainable power. This technology will join the University’s existing fleet of green energy including the solar panel installations, the combined heat and power plant, and the thermo-siphons or “ice balls," used to help cool the Sill Center. With the rising demand for energy in Utah, solar energy development is increasing at an unprecedented pace. According to Tom, "My generation has to reverse the trend of increasing carbon emissions but I want us to do so without sacrificing our ability to thrive in our modern society. Solar Ivy is a technology that could be used on every building to help power our computers, phones and mechanical systems while at the same time, provide green energy jobs and keep our air clean. What's not to like about a product that offers this?"
With guidance from his project advisor, Dr. Kent Udell of the Sustainability Research Center, Tom worked to get a quote from the company, determine the potential energy savings and scouted various locations on campus using a cool device called a Solar Pathfinder, which illustrates the shading of a particular spot throughout the year. He wrote the grant to SCIF and presented his proposal to the SCIF Allocation Committee. The committee was impressed by Tom's presentation and the technology, and awarded his project $30,000 of the $42,000 needed to make this project a reality on our campus. It is up to the Office of Sustainability to raise the additional funds to bring Solar Ivy to the University and help Tom achieve his dream.
Please support this exceptional student initiative. A $25 gift will grow one of the 800 “leaves.” For more information or to make a secure donation, please visit www.sustainability.utah.edu/SCIF
You can also visit the University of Utah Sustainability web site here:
http://tinyurl.com/sustainableuofu
