Arizona Western College and NAU-Yuma are using a new solar array project to help power the Yuma campus and empower students and the community.
Five new 1-megawatt solar systems are under construction and are scheduled to be in use by October. Each solar system uses a different technology. These solar systems can be monitored through a webcam that offers various views of the project.
The 5-megawatt solar array project will not only provide cost-saving power to the college campus, but the blend of technologies also promises to entice people interested in studying environmental sustainability.
NAU-Yuma students will see new educational opportunities from the solar array project.
“We are ready to align our business courses to those business models used in developing solar arrays and other sustainable energy plans to help prepare our students for future energy developments,” said Larry Gould, campus executive officer for NAU-Yuma. “It is very gratifying that we are in partnership with an institution that believes in preparing for the future.”
Northern Arizona University’s Flagstaff campus has been a leader of “green” initiatives among universities and was featured as one of the “Green Colleges” in the Princeton Review. Its Climate Action Plan aims to make the Flagstaff campus a carbon-neutral campus by the year 2020.
“The use of solar energy on the AWC/NAU-Yuma campus aligns with NAU’s longtime sustainability movement in Flagstaff,” Gould said.
Arizona Western College’s new solar initiative is just one more exciting alliance between the 23-year AWC and NAU-Yuma partnership.
Information is online.