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A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for Mar. 4 on the Riverside Campus.
The U.S. Department of Energy, along with Austin Energy and representatives of ACC, will be at Riverside Campus to help commemorate the completion of the Solar for Schools Program. "We're being put on a federal platform…we are being recognized for our work with solar energy which is great because it's the wave of the future." said Brette Lea, Executive Director of Public Information and College Marketing.
The solar panels on both the Riverside and Rio Grande campuses, funded by the program, are now "nearly complete" according to Project Manager for ACC Paul Mason.
Their main purpose is to provide a learning tool for those involved in the solar technology programs.
Students in the solar technology program have the ability to track online how much power is being generated. This can vary depending on elements such as the weather.
Paul Martinez, technical adviser for Austin Energy, said that the "ACC campus PV [photovoltaic] arrays… only produce about $315 worth of electricity per year… per school [the arrays] are supplementing a very small amount of power that is being consumened by the buildings."
According to ACC's website, the 20' tall steel pole supporting a "solar flower array" contain the power cells. A series of underground wires runs between the solar array and the equipment building (connecting to the Grid Point System) the electricity then flows to a main electrical panel in an existing building. This provides the means for depositing electricity onto the grid of the campus.
Mason said "it is a small step but it is a giant step in that it is [among] the first ACC is taking towards becoming a more sustainable district and [it's helping] increase the visibility for the college."
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