Within the past year, Emory has installed 6,530 solar panels atop eight buildings and parking decks as part of a sustainability initiative to transition 10% of campus energy sources to renewable energy by 2025. In the first phase, three sets of panels were installed and connected to the Georgia Power grid on 1599 Clifton Road, Fishburne parking deck and Gambrell Hall.
The project will install 15,000 panels across 15 buildings by 2025. A PPA will pay for the panels and their installation, supported by tax incentives, and will have control over maintaining the panels for 20 years.
“I think when students come back they’ll be really excited because it’s pretty transformational,” Director of Sustainability Initiatives Ciannat Howett (87C) said. “Despite the financial crisis, we were able to move ahead.”
Emory hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 4,300 metric tons to comply with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which stipulates a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Howett said that Emory is on track to reach that goal by 2030.