UW-Madison’s Gordon Dining & Event Center now features a solar PV array that will produce 42,800 kWh of electricity per year to help power the building. The system will save University Housing approximately $1,300 per year on its electricity bill and nearly $36,000 over the system’s lifetime.
A team of students and staff from the Office of Sustainability took a three month course inPhotovoltaic Development for Institutions through the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) to determine the financial feasibility of installing solar. Helios, a student organization that works to promote solar on campus, and a student sustainability organization helped to get financing with a grant from the UW Office of Sustainability’sGreen Fund. A Focus on Energy incentive was applied as well. SunPeak, a Madison-based solar developer, constructed the array and linked it to an online dashboard that tracks its electricity generation and environmental impacts. UW-Madison Office of Sustainability