From Oct. 20: FGCU screams green with solar power field

Florida Gulf Coast University is making a bold statement by installing thousands of photovoltaic solar panels at its main entrance. The futuristic-looking solar farm will be visible to all passers-by, and from airplanes flying over campus.

It's an in-your-face project intended to leave little doubt about FGCU's green tendencies.

"As people drive by, they'll understand our core values," said President Wilson Bradshaw.

Once completed next July, the solar farm will be among the nation's largest for a college, and fulfill 16 to 18 percent of FGCU's annual electricity needs.

Going green, however, comes at a price. The initiative will cost $17 million, half of which the Legislature is providing. The project also means chopping down as much as 19 acres of trees to make room for solar panels, a paradox for a university billing itself as environmentally friendly.

Still, it's full-speed ahead for FGCU, which Tuesday tapped Regenesis Power to build a two-megawatt solar farm on campus. It will be the largest single-site, university-run solar field in the country. For comparison, two megawatts is enough to power up 187 average single-family homes.

At just 11 years old, FGCU is developing its academic programs and a campus identity. Paul Hill, a 30-year-old environmental engineering major, said FGCU might have found its calling with solar energy.

"It's a new engineering program, but if you've got a cutting edge solar project on campus, this is a whole new direction the university could go," said Hill, a sophomore.

FGCU signed a pact last year to move toward climate neutrality, cutting carbon emissions and purchasing energy-efficient appliances. Bradshaw said the solar project will remove 9,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, 14,000 pounds of sulfur dioxides and 5.1 million pounds of carbon dioxides annually from the environment. By locking in a portion of its energy costs, FGCU estimates a $22 million savings over a 30-year period.

The university also lists a host of recycling, ride-sharing and energy-saving programs among its 35 green initiatives. But few noticed.