Bob Solger (center) talks to Dr. Dale Chapman, Dr. Sue Czerwinski and Mike Morgan in front of newly–installed solar PV system.
Just a short distance from the majestic limestone bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River is the main campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois. While the lush green grounds of the campus are obvious, a progressive shift to green the rest of the campus is underway. The college is a founding member of the Illinois Community College Sustainability Network, and is committed to providing cutting edge, innovative green job training programs to area residents.
Dr. Dale Chapman, president of the college, has embarked upon a mission to transform the campus into a model for sustainability, and has empowered a team of people to develop and implement a plan to reduce their carbon footprint, become more energy independent, and creatively embrace the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The most recent step in their well-developed plan was to work with The Energy Savings Store to design a grid-tied solar PV system on the roof of the Advanced Technology (Trimpe) Building to harness the clean, renewable energy of the sun.
The project, which was funded by a grant from Madison County, includes sixteen Sharp solar panels, each rated at 224 watts. The resulting 3.6kW system will be used as a teaching model in an upcoming four-week course on Photovoltaic Design & Installation, where students will learn the basics of PV design and installation. Jim Duffey and Mike Morgan, who designed the curriculum and will teach the course, are eager to teach not only the students but the larger community. “We want to demonstrate the viability of solar power as an alternative to fossil fuels, and this system will provide a great opportunity to ‘show and tell,’” said Morgan. The system is expected to generate 4,500kWh of electricity annually, which is more than a third of what a typical home would use.
Jessica Pascoe, the director of the college’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability, was an advocate of the project from the start. “The Solar Photovoltaic Training Lab is the first of many steps toward preparing workers for a new green economy,” she said. She leads a number of action teams responsible for implementing the green initiatives that Dr. Chapman envisioned, all of which contribute to the students’ education. Energy efficient lighting was installed throughout the campus, including compact florescent lights in buildings and LED lighting on parking lots. The campus food service program is replacing Styrofoam containers with recycled paper products, and will use real silverware or biodegradable flatware rather than plastic utensils. They’ll also begin composting food waste, which will be used as natural fertilizer for landscaping. Ultimately, the college’s goal is to eliminate the use of chemicals and pesticides on all of their campuses. The programs are funded in part by a new “green fee” instituted in the fall of 2008, in which each student pays $1 per credit hour. Students, faculty and staff provide input on the way the funds are used.
The most spectacular example of sustainability is the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, located at the confluence of the three great rivers – the Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi. Lewis & Clark formed key partnerships to bring about this state-of-the-art facility, which is designed to have minimal impact on the environment. The facility is designed to be very energy efficient, and includes a green roof with abundant skylights to maximize natural daylight. Renewable energy is harnessed from a variety of sources, including wind and low-impact hydro for electricity generation, and The Energy Savings Store is providing a solar water heating system. NGRREC officials are seeking a LEED Platinum Certification from the US Green Building Council.
Lewis and Clark College is about 45 minutes from St. Louis, Missouri. The Energy Savings Stores works throughout Missouri, Kansas and Illinois.
