The newly installed solar array on the roof of the Brandeis Library has doubled the amount of solar power generated on campus!
Brandeis is pleased to take advantage of state and federal programs to increase the use of solar, which lowers the University’s costs and carbon footprint while increasing the amount of energy that comes from renewable sources.
Brandeis entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with the solar company Dynamic Energy Solutions, whereby the University purchases the electricity, and the solar company owns and maintains the panels. This gives Brandeis a lower, predictable fixed price for electricity, which is highly valuable for the overall University utilities budget.
The Library was selected for the project because its roof is large and brand new. Dynamic Energy Solutions chose the type of solar panels and designed the array, which comprises 665 320-watt solar panels.
The power generated from the solar array is equivalent to about 25 percent of the Library’s electricity usage. The library is the ninth most energy consuming building on campus.
About half of all the energy used at Brandeis comes from electricity, with the other half from natural gas and a small amount from oil.
The campus currently generates 270,000 kilowatt hours of solar electricity per year from the solar installation on Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, which was installed in 2008. The new 213 kW system on the Library will also produce approximately 270,000 kwh of electricity per year.
See how much energy the solar panels on the Library are producing at AlsoEnergy.
Brandeis also is piloting the use of renewable fuel oil in our central heating plant this winter. The fuel, made from waste vegetable oil collected from area restaurants, is expected to replace up to 10 percent of natural gas use this winter.
Another foray into solar on campus is the study table on the Library’s plaza, which supplies electricity entirely from the sun. It was proposed and entirely driven by students in the course Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving Sustainability of Brandeis and Community (AMST 191b), taught by Professor Laura Goldin, last fall. It is one of the student-funded projects provided through the Brandeis Sustainability Fund.
Other sustainability improvements at the Library include the installation of bottle-filling fountains, made possible with the support of Student Union’s CEEF (Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund).
Learn more about sustainability projects and make suggestions for changes you’d like to see at the Library—or elsewhere on campus—at Brandeis University’s Sustainability Program.