University of Houston and Green Mountain Energy Company “Flip the Switch” for University’s First Solar Array
The University of Houston is now partially powered by the sun, thanks
to Green Mountain Energy Company and its customers. Green Mountain,
Texas’ first competitive retail electric provider to offer cleaner
energy, donated $140,000 to the University through the Green Mountain
Energy Sun Club SM to fund UH’s first solar array system.
The new 20.24 kilowatt (kW) DC solar panel system is mounted on the roof
of the University’s Central Utility Plant, which is located on the
northeast side of campus. It will help reduce the University of
Houston’s carbon footprint and energy costs and serve to educate
students about the benefits of solar energy.
Green Mountain Vice President of Sales, Mark Lamping and the company’s
Super Earth Mascot joined UH Program Coordinator for Sustainability,
Leah Wolfthal; Green Mountain Energy® Solar Intern, Omar Tahir; Steve
Stelzer, City of Houston’s Program Director of Green Building Resource
Center; and UH’s Recycle Man to officially “flip the switch” of the
solar array during a ceremonial dedication at UH. The event coincided
with the University’s Green UH Day, a campus-wide event to celebrate and
raise awareness about green initiatives and programs at the University.
“We are thrilled that UH, a highly regarded educational institution in
Houston is the recipient of this solar array from the Green Mountain
Energy Sun Club,” said Lamping.“Green Mountain has been serving
customers throughout Houston and the surrounding communities since 2002.
Donating a solar system like this one helps us give back to the
communities where our customers live, work, shop and play, while
supporting our mission to change the way power is made.”
The new solar panel system is the first solar array to power a
University of Houston building. The array’s 88 large photovoltaic (PV)
solar panels cover 2,000 square feet and will convert sunlight into
electricity, producing approximately 23,600 kilowatt hours (kWh) of
clean energy annually. It is estimated that the solar array will save
the University as much as $300,000 over the course of its 30-year
lifetime1.
The solar array will also have a positive impact on the environment. It
is expected to avoid over 31,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. That
is equivalent to more than 9,000 houses turning off all their lights for
one day, not driving nearly 35,000 miles, taking 1,000 cars off the road
for one day or recycling 12,500 lbs of newspaper.
Green Mountain’s Sun Club, which funded the University of Houston’s
solar array, is a unique program in which Green Mountain’s Texas
customers can choose to support solar energy installations in Texas by
paying an additional $5 on their monthly Green Mountain Energy® electric
bill (for information, visit www.gmsunclub.com). This is Green
Mountain’s 32nd solar installation through the Sun Club since 2002 when
the program was launched.
Additionally, the Green Mountain Sun Club has previously made 11 other
solar donations to Houston-area organizations including: the Houston
Zoo, Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, Chinquapin School, and Houston
Habitat for Humanity.
“We are very thankful to Green Mountain Energy for helping us take this
significant step in the University of Houston’s clean energy journey to
treat the earth right,” said Wolfthal.
Green Mountain Energy Company Solar Internship Program
As a result of the annual electricity savings that UH will receive from
the solar array, the University has launched the Green Mountain Energy
Company Solar Internship program. One student intern will be paid $1,000
per academic semester from the savings generated as a result of using
solar panels. Today, University of Houston and Green Mountain announced
that Omar Tahir was selected to be the intern for the 2011-2012 school
year. His internship will run through May 2012. In his role as intern,
Tahir will keep track of the solar arrays performance, update the Green
Mountain Energy® Solar Array webpage and execute one on-campus
educational event each semester.
“We are very excited about the first-ever Green Mountain Energy Company
Solar Internship program! We look forward to hearing about the results
of the solar array’s performance and the campus educational events,”
said Lamping.
As part of the donation, an educational sign will be installed on the UH
campus to inform students about the solar array, how it works and its
environmental benefits. The solar panels were installed by Alternative
Power Solutions. The general contractor for the project was Vaughn
Construction.
About University of Houston
The University of Houston is a comprehensive national research
institution serving the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast
Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and
strategic industry partnerships. UH serves more than 38,500 students in
the nation’s fourth largest city, located in the most ethnically and
culturally diverse region of the country.
About Green Mountain Energy Company
Green Mountain, the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of
cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, was founded in 1997 “to
change the way power is made.” The company is the longest serving green
power marketer in the United States. Green Mountain offers consumers and
businesses the choice of cleaner electricity products from renewable
sources, such as wind, as well as a variety of carbon offset products.
Green Mountain’s largest customer is the “world’s most famous office
building,” the Empire State Building in New York City. Green Mountain
customers have collectively helped avoid over 11.3 billion pounds of CO2
emissions. As a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG), Green
Mountain is backed by one of the nation’s largest renewable power
producers. For more information, visit
GreenMountain.com.
