UNE’s environmental studies students shine when charged up about solar power
The bus shelter at the University of New England’s Portland Campus satellite parking lot on Bishop street is now sporting 12 solar panels that generate power for the lot’s two electric car charging stations, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Associate Professor Noah Perlut’s 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’s car charging stations—currently two on the Biddeford Campus and two in Portland – 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’s 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’s 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. “Smart, focused ideas can be successful,” he stated; and students, he said, can implement these ideas by themselves. “They don’t need to wait for other people to solve the problems in the world.”
Watch a video about the project
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