FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
what is the EBSCO Solar grant
The Florida Atlantic University, John D. MacArthur Campus Library solar project includes the design and installation of a $115,000 solar array at the Jupiter campus that will cover 15% of the library's energy usage. This grant compliments an existing goal of the Jupiter Campus Master Plan to offset 50% of the building level energy supply from off-campus solar power installations. The project’s system output is estimated at 66,000 kWh/Year with an expected annual savings of $5,772 on electric costs.
WHO are the collaborators
The solar project is a collaboration between the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering and the FAU Libraries. During the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 semesters, Senior Design Students from the College of Engineering provided an initial project assessment and design plan. In the Summer of 2023, students enrolled in the Introduction to Solar Energy – EML 4416 course will expand upon the work provided by the Senior Design Students. EML 4416 students will complete the design of the solar system for the John D. MacArthur Campus Library taking into consideration the site requirements, needed kWh output, and components such as solar panels, batteries, charge controllers and inverters. Students involved in this phase of the 18-month project implementation will engage in an applied learning experience through modeling, hands-on measurement, and installation practices. Future students and faculty will utilize the system to gain proficiencies in monitoring solar energy production, determining electric consumption, and troubleshooting the solar system for the library building.
WHY THIS PROJECT IS UNIQUE
In addition to delivering sustainability derived energy, this project affords our students a hands-on experience with photovoltaic systems provided by an MIT educated faculty who is a pioneer in the field. This is especially significant considering that FAU serves the most racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse student population in the State University System of Florida. In 2020, approximately 55% of total full-time first-generation enrollment were comprised of minority students. Additionally, the United States Department of Education designated FAU as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a status only awarded to colleges and universities with an enrollment of full-time Hispanic undergraduate students of at least 25 percent.
WHERE IS IT LOCATED
The John D. MacArthur Campus Library is a two-story 22,000 square foot facility located on Florida Atlantic University’s Jupiter campus and is administered as a department of the FAU Libraries, based in Boca Raton. This library branch houses nearly 100,000 circulating items and remote access to thousands of journals which support the academic programs offered by five of the university’s ten colleges. The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College is the only one of the five colleges that has a residential base at Jupiter. Other distinctive features of the campus include a thriving Lifelong Learning Society, Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. FAU’s Jupiter campus was named a Tree Campus U.S.A. by the Arbor Day Foundation and recognizes the efforts that the University continues to make in caring for the environment.
