In conjunction with the Business Sustainability Challenge, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), United Illuminating, and Celtic Energy Consulting piloted the Energize CT Higher Education Fellowship Initiative during the fall 2015 semester.
Program goals included updating SCSU’s climate action plan, conducting a feasibility study for on-site solar installation and providing an opportunity for students to be directly involved in every aspect of planning, data collection, analysis and reporting.
Four students with a variety of interests and majors were selected for the Fellowship: Meredith Hidalgo, Biology; Justin Lipe, Chemistry master’s degree program; Skyler Edmondson, Geography; and Amanda Macintyre, Exercise Science. The fellowship provided guided skill development for energy planning and management of carbon reduction.
The students’ primary responsibility was collecting and assessing different types of data across campus buildings with the goal of updating the SCSU climate action plan as part of their Climate Leadership Commitment. Students attended meetings with facilities staff and energy consultants, toured the central plant SCSU Energy Center and the 750 KW Greater New Haven JCC parking canopy solar installation.
The student data provided some of the information necessary for the SCSU systems office to post a request for proposal to initiate on-site Photovoltaic solar installation. The project includes installing ground-mounted panels and rooftop panels on a campus garage. Depending on cost effectiveness, the project may also incorporate a parking canopy installation in a portion of a different on-campus parking lot.
