Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

UW-Platteville to Build 2.4MW Solar Array

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 02/23/21

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has received approval from the state to erect a 2.4-megawatt solar array on its campus. According to the university, this will be the largest solar array owned by a Wisconsin state agency and will make the campus the sixth-highest on-site producer of renewable energy in the country among institutions of higher education.

According to a university article on the project, the array will feed directly into the main electricity meter connected to the 32 campus buildings, generating all electricity in real-time, rather than sending it back to the grid. The solar is expected to offset electricity by 17%, saving an annual $217,000 and reducing carbon emissions by 2,300 tons per year. The campus also hosts a wind turbine and a smaller rooftop solar project on its Engineering Hall.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville Solar Array
The existing solar array on the rooftop of Engineering Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Source: University of Wisconsin-Platteville

The project was instigated when some 300 students at the school signed a petition in 2018, asking the administration to achieve 100% renewable energy for the campus by 2030. In the following year, 82% of students agreed with the goal in a referendum. The array is one of several projects now being advanced by the university to achieve carbon neutrality.

A chain-link fence will surround the array, which will be installed with pilings. The array is expected to have a 30-year life and is designed to accommodate future battery storage.

The array work is also providing students with opportunities for hands-on learning. Faculty are incorporating related projects into their coursework. Students in a sustainable and renewable energy systems course helped design the initial project. Dairy science students formed a plan for sheep grazing under the array. And reclamation, environment and conservation students developed a native pollinator seeding plan for the space.

"We are excited to take this momentous step in our commitment to sustainability," said Chancellor Dennis Shields in a statement. "These efforts will save taxpayer money and have a lasting impact on future generations of Pioneers."

The array is scheduled to be operational by fall 2021.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Tomball ISD Opens New Tomball West High School

    Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, recently celebrated the official opening of Tomball West High School, the district's third comprehensive high school, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a district news release.