With oil prices steadily on
the rise and showing no signs
of dropping, many people
and businesses are looking
for ways to reduce their
reliance on traditional ways
of producing energy.
Solar energy, which was
first used in 1958 to power
the Vanguard satellite, is
becoming more and more
popular as a clean and efficient
way to reduce energy
costs.
Solar energy obviously
comes from sunlight and people
are using this limitless
power source that powers the
sun in homes, offices and universities.
What started out as a group
project for students at Point
Loma Nazarene University in
CA to try and get the college
to switch to partial solar
power has gained lots of support
from the public, students
and staff at the college.
PLNU is scheduled to have
a solar panel installed that
will generate 450 kilowatts an
hour, which will reduce the
yearly greenhouse emissions
of the college by 586 tons.
That is the equivalent of
taking 110 cars off of the road.
Even though some colleges
are beginning to look for
cleaner ways to light their
classrooms, Bucks has taken
only a few small steps in this
area so far, even though
some students are trying to
bring attention to the topic.
Jason Bobb, music major,
chose to do his group advocacy
project for his Art of
Science and Nature class on
the potential benefits of solar
and wind energy as well as
the benefits of switching the
light switches in bathrooms
and classrooms to motion
detector light switches.
“We decided to do this
topic because of all the problems
with the environment.
We could be looking at serious
climate changes in the
next 10 to 15 years,” he said..
“Even though solar energy
might not make sense fiscally,
it would eventually pay for
itself over time.”
Solar, wind and hydroelectric
power account for 99.9
percent of the renewable
energy on the planet, so with
such a large amount of naturally
eco-friendly energy
around, why aren’t more people
capitalizing on this alternative
to coal, oil and nuclear
power?
The answer is cost. Solar
energy is far from cheap,
however, with new technologies
the price is going down
and people are going to have
to find a different excuse for
why they are sticking to the
old, polluting ways of the
past.
According to solar
homes.com, the average price
for the full installation of
solar panels, which includes
the panels, installation kits
and the cost of having it
hooked into the power grid,
has dropped 200 percent in
the last 30 years.
However, even with the
cost of solar energy dropping,
it is still costly to have a system,
even a small one.
Solar panels, called photovoltaic,
range from $12,000
for a panel system that will
produce 2,000 watts to
$77,000 that will produce
12,500 watts.
That seems like an awful lot
of money for Bucks to dish
out just for a cleaner energy
system. However, take into
account that Bucks has
around 10,000 students.
If one semester Bucks were
to increase every student’s
tuition by $5, that additional
revenue would produce
around $50,000.
Over the course of two
years, the college could raise
$200,000, which would in
turn allow Bucks to pay for
enough solar panels to produce
well over 25,000 watts of
power.
Mark Grisi, executive director
physical plant, said, “The
college uses roughly 624,800
kilowatts per hour every
month.”
This would save the college
a significant amount of
money, even when the lights
are off.
The coolest thing about
having solar panels is that the
panels themselves are tied
into the power grid.
So on a sunny Sunday when
no classes are being held,
Bucks would actually sell the
energy created by the panels
to the township or the electric
company, causing the electric
meter at Bucks to run backwards
and therefore reducing
the monthly bill.
So with all the fuss about
“going green” Bucks may
have a potential way to not
only be eco-friendly but also
save some money as well.