PROJECT: MINES SOLAR COMMITTEE

         In Fall 2020, I was a member of a team competing in the Solar Decathlon Design Competition hosted by the Department of Energy. While designing a sustainable apartment complex for students, peers expressed a desire to see and be a part of meaningful sustainable progress at Colorado School of Mines. As a result, I founded and led the Mines Solar Committee, a student-activism organization focused on catalyzing the increase of renewable energy generation at Colorado School of Mines.

THE PETITION

         In the first initiative of the Solar Committee, I created a petition to increase the amount of renewable energy powering the campus. At this time, the entire world was still largely locked down due to the coronavirus with the majority of classes taught remotely and strict social distancing policies in place, meaning the successful distribution of the petition required creative problem-solving.

        I created dozens of posters, hanging them at every building on campus and the majority of public spaces. Next, I found the contact information for every single club and student organization at Colorado School of Mines and began sending emails. Furthermore, I directly contacted the majority of athletic programs, greek life houses, and academic departments for the further dissemination of the petition. Working with other members of the newly-formed Solar Committee, the petition was distributed through public group chats, private messaging, and school announcement boards. 

After two months, the petition had garnered over 500 signatures, a high achievement for a school with a small student body (~6,000), strong historical ties to the petroleum industry, and limited social contact. With the petition proving successful, the Mines Solar Committee moved on to the next phase of activism.

THE PRESENTATION

          I reached out to the President of Colorado School of Mines, Paul C. Johnson, with an invitation with the Mines Solar Committee to discuss the current state of sustainability at the university and to create future plans. The President, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Director of Facilities, and Director of Sustainability were all invited and accepted the invitation for this scheduled student-presentation in late November.

         After several months of collaborative preparation, Environmental Engineering student Emily Robinson and I delivered an argument for the necessity of renewable energy for the future of Colorado School of Mines with dozens of supportive peers in attendance.

The school administration received our presentation well, empathized with our aspirations, informed us of the current actions that the university was taking and expressed an interest in working with the students to achieve these goals. The meeting ended with a greater level of awareness and understanding between the students in attendance and the administration.

          At the time of the presentation, Colorado School of Mines had hired McKinstry to do a multi-million dollar solar feasibility study. With budgets tight, the presentation delivered by the Solar Committee helped convince the administration to approve the investment of $4.8 million for 1.5 MegaWatts of new Photovoltaic installations.

THE PROJECT

          Spring 2021, the university hosted a design competition for creative implementation of solar on campus. The Solar Committee took on the challenge, designing an outside study space integrated with solar for portable electricity and complete with an educational interface. The study space utilized southward-facing panels mounted above a table with chairs to provide shade, electricity, wifi, and shelter. Beside the main panel, miniature solar panels are mounted on adjustable podiums beside the table. Users can experiment with the angle on the panels and witness the results of the change on a weather-proof tablet mounted on the table.