UB’s 73.5 kilowatt PV system is a 6,300 square foot array which uses Sharp NT-175U1 panels in a Solar Quilt mounting system manufactured by Industrial Energy Solutions. The Sharp panels are 13.45% efficient. The PV array produces DC power which is fed into inverters installed in Norton Hall’s mechanical room. The inverters change the DC to AC power. That power is then fed into Norton Hall’s electrical circuits. The annual output of the system is expected to be approximately 73,100 kilowatt hours of electricity.

The horizontal roof-top installation of UB’s PV system maximizes solar output in the summer when sunlight is most direct and available. The array’s output is expected to be much less in the winter when the sun is low in the southern sky and days are short. Output will be near zero when the array is snow-covered.

Despite its size, UB’s PV array meets only 6% of Norton Hall’s electrical needs (not counting the super computer). Why? Sunlight is diffuse, PV cell efficiency is still low, and consequently the array’s output is modest. PV technology needs to improve and we need to become much more energy conserving and efficient for renewable energy technologies like PV to meet our energy needs.

If PV’s energy contribution is so modest, why purchase and install it? Today’s PV installations are pilot projects and serve an educational and often a research purpose. As more and more megawatts of PV are installed each year, PV prices are falling and efficiencies are increasing – significantly improving cost-effectiveness. Given its environmental advantages, many believe that PV will be a common energy source in the future.

UB’s PV system has an installed cost of $561,000. Our thanks to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for a grant to cover $367,500 of these costs. The remaining costs were financed from energy savings produced by the Chevron Energy Solutions comprehensive energy conservation project on the UB South Campus. Our thanks to Chevron for designing and managing the installation of this PV array.

The system over its 30-year design life will remove over 2.0 million pounds of the primary greenhouse gas CO2, equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by 11 acres of trees over 30 years. The system will also save the equivalent of over 4,100 barrels of oil to be drilled or imported.