A Case Study: Solar Panels at Boston College Annie Meyer April 1, 2014 Farhin Zaman Elizabeth Norton GE 580 Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Introduction Solar Photovoltaic: Background Solar cells and photovoltaics were first invented in 1954 after a lot of research around photoelectric technologies and Beginning to use the sun’s energy for other purposes (“Timeline…”). Now, solar has Been around for many decades, and has been proved to consistently work well. Like most other technology, solar has improved immensely over time, gaining more efficiency and Becoming a more viaBle option for homes and Businesses. When it was first invented, each cell had a 6% efficiency rate (“Timeline…”). Currently most cells have an efficiency rate of approximately 25% though there are cells Being developed with over 40% efficiency (“Stacking the Deck” 2014). That is truly an amazing transformation, and a testament to technology. Solar PV can be difficult to understand, especially when you are thinking aBout using it for your home or Business. There is a long list of things to consider, but the first step is to understand the basic technology behind the panels. Solar panels contain solar cells (mentioned aBove) that collect heat energy from the sun. Once this energy is trapped, an inverter is used to convert the energy so that it is usaBle within your home to power things with electricity (EnergySage). Though you may not Be aBle to produce enough energy to meet 100% of the needs for your home, solar PV can still help you save a lot of money. Solar PV is considered ‘clean’ energy Because it harnesses energy from a renewaBle resource: the sun. Our planet is constantly receiving energy from the sun, so why not utilize it? Overall solar is a very environmentally friendly solution in a society that uses colossal amounts of energy. Solar at other Colleges/Universities: Brandeis, Harvard, and Stonehill By looking at the solar installations at other colleges and universities, we were able to get solid and successful examples of solar working in different ways at places similar to BC. Harvard has solar panel systems on eight of its buildings, the largest of which produces 590,000 kWh/year. The university also purchases renewable energy from offsite sources and has a wind turbine mounted on one of its buildings. Combined, 17% of their electricity comes from renewable sources, while saving them money on the use of fuel and utilities (“Sustainability…” 2013). Harvard is clearly making a statement about being green and moving towards cleaner technologies. While we understand that BC hopes to do the same, the university is also working on a ten year plan to add housing and new facilities. Taking on one solar project is much more reasonable at the moment. Stonehill College is currently building one of the nation’s largest college campus solar fields. It is a 2.7 megawatt field that will contain 9,000 solar panels. The solar field is expected to save about $185,000 a year on energy costs and account for 20% of the campus’ electrical usage (“One of Nation’s…” 2014). This array produces such a large portion of the college’s energy mostly because Stonehill is only a quarter of the size of BC, making it’s energy use much smaller (“Stonehill College” 2014). In addition, field arrays have to be built away from the campus, making the use of solar less noticeable. While we do not propose making solar extremely visible at BC, we think that it is important that students can physically identify the connection between the panels and energy use. Brandeis installed solar on the roofs of two buildings in 2010. At the time, the project was one of the largest in the state, and these panels currently produce 10% of the annual energy needed at their sports center (“Campus Sustainability Initiative”).This plan is what we think should be the closest to our proposed project at Boston College. This type of system offers energy savings and becomes iconic to the university. This is a good place to start, and hopefully, if BC falls in love with solar, the administration would then add more. Solar at Boston College Implementing solar panels on Boston College’s campus is an effective and easy way to introduce clean energy with proven technology. Solar panels offer both an environmental and economic benefit, especially at universities where energy consumption is high. With an undergraduate population of over 9,000 students, 2 major stadiums, 3 major dining locations, and over 20 dormitories, Boston College is always using large amounts of energy. Our report will outline the thorough investigation of four different buildings on campus, and what a Solar PV system offers in each situation. The findings will compare third party ownership with private ownership, giving a comprehensive plan for Boston College moving forward. Solar PV will help reduce BC’s electricity bills, protect against rising energy costs, and increase sustainability initiatives. Our primary objective is to create a realistic plan for the first implementation of solar panels on campus with the hope that the B.C. administration will accept the idea. Methods Picking the location Over the course of this project our team used process of elimination to determine the Best location for a solar PV system on Boston College properties. Through meetings with two of our mentors - John MacDonald the BC Energy Manager, and Bob Pion the BC SustainaBility Director - we were given advice on how to decide which locations would Be feasiBle and most Beneficial to the school. We examined the multitude of Buildings that Boston College maintains on several properties - Main campus, Newton campus, Brighton campus, and the Weston OBservatory. From these options, Building choices were narrowed down Based on a series of criteria, an overview of which can Be seen in Figure 1. The Basic variaBles involved were aesthetics, BC’s ten year plan, and annual energy use. Figure 1: Flow chart outlining the process of elimination for solar system locations. The initial proposal of this project was to implement solar panels on the roof of the Commonwealth Ave Parking garage. We ruled this option out due to aesthetics. Its proximity to St. Mary’s means that the Jesuit residents would directly overlook the panels on top of the garage. We ruled out all of middle campus Because it consists of buildings with gothic architecture, which is the aesthetic that the BC administration is most dedicated to in regards to the campus’ appearance. This group includes buildings such as Devlin, Lyons, Gasson, Fulton, and Stokes Hall. It also includes Buildings in close proximity to gothic architecture, like McGuinn, as well as Buildings in view of middle campus, such as Conte Forum (the roof of which is also taken up mostly By skylights, leaving little area left for solar panels). Next, our team was shown the 10-year construction plan for Boston College’s campus which revealed several Buildings and structures that will Be knocked down in the near future, including Edmond’s Hall and Carney. Our team decided not to propose installing solar panels on any buildings that will be built in the near future, such as the new Plex athletic Building, Because the construction plans for them are not yet fully concrete and we want this proposal to Be applicaBle in real time. A couple of Buildings, like the Brighton Campus Dance Studio Building, were removed from our list Because they are simply too small to hold a valuaBle number of solar panels. The remaining Buildings were reviewed Based on their year-round energy use. Buildings that are not used throughout the entire year (i.e. not used very much during the summer) were also eliminated since solar panels are most efficient and useful in places where energy is used all the time. This group included all dormitories, including all those on Newton Campus, upper Main campus, and lower Main campus. All of main campus runs on one energy meter, which makes it more difficult to involve another type of energy generating system on one of the main campus Buildings. The energy offset from the panels would come out of the campus’ total energy use rather than out of just the energy use of the building it is installed on. Though it would Be possiBle to have the system in place on a single Building while having it hooked up to the school’s net metering system, our team agreed that since we are proposing installing solar panels at Boston College for the first time, it would Be Best to make this a contained system on a single Building. This way the administration can look at the project and decide how to move forward. This process of elimination narrowed down our choices to four locations - Cadigan Alumni Center (Figure 2a), 129 Lake Street (Figure 2B), the Beacon Street Garage (Figure 2c), and St. Clement’s Hall, the campus data center (Figure 2d). All four of these Buildings we have flat roof tops, which means that solar panels could be set at the proper angle and direction for best possible production. The Beacon St Garage is large, which would allow it to accommodate a very large solar panel system. Unfortunately, it has parking spots on its roof, so a canopy structure would have to Be Built to accommodate the panels. This is a fairly standard procedure But it can be costly. Though we did not calculate the expense of building these solar canopies on top of the garage, it would be an added expense on top of the cost of Buying and installing a system at this location.