UNC receives grant for solar-energy project on campus

GREELEY — The University of Northern Colorado has received a $500,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment for a renewable-energy project that will cut the university’s electricity costs and carbon emissions.

The funding will allow UNC to purchase and install solar arrays on the roof of Parsons Hall on the east campus. The system will produce about 4.7 million kilowatts an hour of electricity (the average consumption for a U.S. home is about 11,000 kWh annually) with estimated savings of $176,500 over the expected 20-year life of the system. In addition, the project over the two decades is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 3,500 metric tons, the equivalent of removing from roads 749 cars driven in a year.

It’s anticipated that installation will begin late this year, and the system will be up and running in spring 2019. It will be the second solar project on campus. The first was a smaller system installed atop McKee Hall in 2008.

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