Southern Oregon University is making headway in its march toward becoming the first public university in the United States to produce all of the daytime electricity used on its campus, with more than $5 million in recent state, federal and student funding plus multiple solar projects underway.
SOU completed a rooftop solar installation on Lithia Motors Pavilion last July, with the project adding a 241-kilowatt solar array to the 63-kilowatt array already located on the athletic building's roof -- making it the largest rooftop solar array in Ashland.
SOU's next project -- a solar array and battery storage bank -- will begin soon at The Hawk Dining Commons. That project will enable SOU to support community resilience by providing 24/7 power at The Hawk 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 recent and upcoming projects have been funded so far by a total of $3 million from the Oregon Department of Energy, $800,000 from a legislative allocation and $51,000 from the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University.
SOU is continuing to work through details of the federal appropriation's funding mechanism, and is using the state funds to maintain the pace of its solar build-out. The university anticipates generating 100% of its own electricity by 2035.
