Harvard University Goes Solar (image from j.gresham on Flickr)

Its been years since I lived in Massachusetts, or visited Harvard Yard, but there’s a new reason to visit the historic Ivy League Campus.  Harvard University goes solar, as announced this week, with plans to install a 500 kilowatt (kW) solar panel array on an office building originally constructed in the early 19th century.  I would love to go see the solar panels at Harvard!

A Massachusetts solar rebate program is providing capital for a new Harvard solar panel project, which will cover the length of more than 2 football fields on the roof of The Arsenal on the Charles.  Detailed care and planning have preceded the decision to install solar panels on the University’s largest office building, which was built in 1816.  Adding insulation, retrofitting and, particularly, installing new items such as solar panels, necessitates additional land use review and approval when historic buildings are involved.  At Harvard, the selected installation process will not penetrate the roof surface, so as to maintain the integrity of the structure.

The solar panels at Harvard will be installed pursuant to a 2008 plan the University adopted to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% by 2015.  At The Arsenal on the Charles, the new solar array will produce over 635,000 kilowatts per year of clean, renewable energy.  And, Harvard has already made strides to go solar, when it installed PV panels on the roof of its Fitness Center in 2003.  Each day, the panels convert the sun’s power into electricity that would power 20-30 homes!

You don’t need a Harvard degree to know that it is quite a smart move on behalf of the University to plan the new solar panel array, and to continue to explore ways to reduce its carbon footprint, while relying on renewable energy resources like solar power.