SU Opens New Solar Parking Canopy
Pictured, from left: Dr. Michael Lewis, SU Environmental Studies Department chair; Dr. Karen Olmstead, SU interim provost and vice president of academic affairs; Marvin Pyles, SU vice president of administration and finance; Eric Berkheimer, SU associate vice president of facilities and capital management; SU President Janet Dudley-Eshbach; Wayne Shelton, SU director of campus sustainability and environmental safety; Chuck Geppi, Standard Solar project manager; Tony Clifford, Standard Solar chief development officer; and Sam Hopkins, Paradise Energy Solutions branch manager.
SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University President Janet Dudley-Eshbach joined SU administrators and representatives from Standard Solar to celebrate SU’s new solar parking canopy on Tuesday, August 22, following completion of the summer-long project.
Solar panels covering SU’s Parking Lot H, on College Avenue, will collect energy from the sun to help power adjacent academic buildings while providing shade for vehicles using the lot.
The panels will generate approximately 765,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, according to Wayne Shelton, SU director of campus sustainability and environmental safety. They are expected to provide the equivalent of 100 percent of the electricity needed to power the combined annual operation of three SU residence halls: Manokin, Pocomoke and Wicomico.
Standard Solar, the contractor installing the system, will own, operate and maintain it for 20 years, after which ownership will revert to SU. The project also will include an educational display listing performance data and related information.
“The environmental, educational and sustainability value of the project was the driving factor in the decision to install,” Shelton said, adding that an educational kiosk slated for installation in adjacent Conway Hall will allow students and others to see exactly how much electricity the canopy is producing in real time and cumulatively.
The installation also includes five electric vehicle charging (EVC) stations, more than tripling the number on campus. SU’s inaugural EVC stations, unveiled with the opening of Perdue Hall in 2011, were the first to be publicly available on the Eastern Shore.
Two Sea Gulls from SU’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business helped play a part in the project. M.B.A. graduate Sam Hopkins ’15 is a branch manager for Paradise Energy Solutions, a subcontractor for the canopy. Current M.B.A. student Warren Miller is a regional sales manager for the company.
For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.