Jean Humphries, ASU solar team spokeswoman said in an email that the projects, which are located on the Orange and Cady malls and at the Gammage Parkway Medians, support five separate APS production-based incentives and cost nearly $6 million.
"The University has a goal set by the University president to produce 25 megawatts dc energy from solar sources by 2015," she said. "In addition, we have carbon neutrality goals set by the University president to which our solar energy production contributes."
The construction on the PowerParasolTM power plant and shade structures, which began June 18 and is slated to be complete by November, is an innovative solar energy design from Tempe-based Strategic Solar Energy and will generate enough energy to power 128 homes per year once complete, according to a press release.
Another shade PowerParasolTM structure similar to the one found in Lot 59 is being built near the median of Gammage Parkway, south of the Farmer Education and the School of Music buildings.
These structures are the first of their kind to be employed over pedestrian space, and will provide shade during the day and lighting at night for added security, according to the release.
Anthony Ricci, a political science senior and summer resident adviser at Cholla Hall, said he battles the heat several times a week to get to the MU. He said he finds the extra commute annoying but thinks it will be worth it in the end.
“It’s pretty slow around here in the summer, so it doesn’t inconvenience that many people,” he said. “ASU prides itself on sustainability so harnessing solar power seems like a pretty worthwhile long-term project, especially here in the Valley."
Kena Fedorschak, a recent sustainability alumnus and co-founder of the Honors Society for Sustainability, said harnessing solar power is a step in the right direction when it comes to creating new sources of energy.
“Regardless of whether you believe climate change is going to have catastrophic consequences or not, it’s still inevitable that we’re going to have to replace coal and natural gas with more renewable sources,” he said. “We have so much sunlight hitting the earth in Phoenix it’s pretty much perfect for solar energy.”
Fedorschak said less than 5 percent of the world’s energy is generated from renewable sources, and developing new ways to generate energy from sources such as sunlight is important in moving toward more sustainable energy practices.
He said President Michael Crow is at the forefront of advancing these ideas and practices and that ASU is a leader in sustainable energy practices and research in academia.
“Crow and everyone under his administration is really focused on asking ‘What can we do to solve real world problems?’” he said. “They have recognized the inevitability of getting off of fossil fuel energy, and he has really made a big push to get ASU to be sustainable.”
However, Fedorschak said solar energy is not the final solution, and further research into renewable energy sources that can provide cities with power during the day and at night is still much needed.
“Solar can’t provide that, so to really transition we need to provide a replacement for coal energy,” he said. “To me, solar is a step in the right direction, but it’s not the end all be all, and it’s no panacea.”
Reach the reporter at npmendo@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @NPMendoza
