UNE鈥檚 environmental studies students shine when charged up about solar power

ReVision employees installed a total of 12 solar panels on the roof of the Bishop Street bus shelter. The energy generated will
ReVision Energy employees installed a total of 12 solar panels on the roof of the Bishop Street bus shelter. The energy generated will be used to power the two electric car charging stations on the lot.

The bus shelter at the 51品茶鈥檚 Portland Campus satellite parking lot on Bishop street is now sporting 12 solar panels that generate power for the lot鈥檚 two electric car charging stations, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Associate Professor Noah Perlut鈥檚 Introduction to Environmental  Studies students.

After a field trip to ReVision Energy, a local solar power installation company, students in the course were convinced that the University鈥檚 car charging stations 鈥 currently two on the Biddeford Campus and two in Portland 鈥 did not go far enough in promoting clean energy. Impressed by what they saw at ReVision, the students expressed a strong desire to see sunlight as the source of power for the charging stations, and Perlut encouraged them to make that vision a reality.

He guided them through a rigorous process of researching, drafting and revising a proposal and gathering nearly 1,000 signatures of fellow students, staff and faculty who supported UNE鈥檚 investment in this project. The students then presented the proposal to President Danielle Ripich, who accepted it. The Portland Campus solar panels were put on the roof of the bus shelter on August 31, and the panels in Biddeford will be installed in the near future.

According to Perlut, this endeavor has helped to build the University鈥檚 portfolio of sustainability projects, and he hopes it will serve as a test model for larger scale solar projects in the future.

He also hopes that the experience has taught his students a lesson of empowerment. 鈥淪mart, focused ideas can be successful,鈥 he stated; and students, he said, can implement these ideas by themselves. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need to wait for other people to solve the problems in the world.鈥

 

To learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.une.edu/cas.

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissisions.