Students lead largest on-campus solar project to date
Last week, Jack Klop and Sofie Schumerth, juniors at Ƶ, were on top of the facilities building on Ƶ's campus helping to assemble and mount a 35-kilowatt solar array—the largest ever on-campus solar project.
“It’s not just an environmental win—it’s a financial one too,” said Klop, a junior from Pasadena, Calif., who is studying civil and environmental engineering. “We estimate it will pay for itself within seven years.”
Investing and then reinvesting
The installation should replace between 45 and 60-percent of the energy used by the facilities building. Better yet, the project is fully funded thanks to the Calvin Energy Recovery Fund (CERF)—a green revolving fund started 15 years ago that takes the monetary savings generated from student-led energy projects and reinvests them in future sustainability initiatives.
“For years, students have come up with great ways to generate energy savings on campus and once those projects pay themselves back, the money saved goes into this revolving fund,” said Klop. “We are able to install these solar panels thanks to the work done by students before us.”
Led by students
And Klop and Schumerth, both interns with CERF, are just two of the many students who have played an integral part in this idea becoming a reality. In fact, three engineering classes and a physics class spent this past fall digging into what it would take to design a solar farm on Calvin’s campus.
“Jack and I attended their final presentation to hear their perspective,” said Schumerth. “This happened while we were looking at installing this array. Their momentum has catapulted us to this point. It’s really exciting to see the quick turnaround of their ideas and them coming to fruition here.”
For both Klop and Schumerth, they are thrilled they are able to play a critical part in helping Calvin live into its commitment to becoming carbon neutral.
“Being able to take the leaps we have so far this year toward the carbon neutrality goal and it being a tangible step toward that versus a nice idea that gets thrown around is really exciting,” said Schumerth, a junior from Appleton, Wis., who is studying civil and environmental engineering.
“This is such a great hands-on experience for us as students to see a project through, from looking at what it would cost us to getting up on the roof and installing the solar panels,” said Klop.
Rooted in faith
And while it’s a great opportunity for the students, they also see it as living out what they believe.
“It’s definitely rooted in our values and Christian traditions of wanting to steward the environment and the creation that God has given us and wanting to use those resources wisely and using solar panels and renewable energy is a great way to harvest energy from the sun that might not be utilized,” said Klop.
More on the horizon
In addition to the solar project, CERF is also supporting additional energy-efficiency upgrades, including variable frequency drives (VFDs) on HVAC systems. The goal is to install a total of four VFDs across the system — which together could reduce energy consumption by around 45% —the specific VFD going in this spring will contribute an estimated 10% reduction in campus energy use and generate up to $80,000 in annual savings.
The current provides another way to continue to fund high-impact sustainability projects and support student learning.
“Gifts given to CERF through are actually going double the length of most gifts because they are going toward student development and they are funding projects that will in turn fund future projects with their energy savings,” said Klop.
If you are interested in learning more about about the solar array and other green initiatives happening at Calvin, stop by the Chapel at 4 p.m. on May 1 for the Sustainability Showcase.
