WSU effort among area solar panels on Ohio tour

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 1:37 PM Thursday, September 30, 2010

FAIRBORN — A new solar array atop Wright State University’s student union will shave the cost to heat an indoor swimming pool by 20 percent.

The school’s first foray into solar power could cover its $140,000 installation cost in a decade depending on the price of natural gas, said John Howard, plant manager on a campus where the natural gas heating bill hits $2 million annually.

The array is just one stop on the self-guided 2010 Ohio Solar Tour Saturday and Sunday organized by Green Energy Ohio, a nonprofit promoter of renewable energy. Howard would like to expand Wright State’s relatively modest entry into green energy, but another project isn’t in the budget yet, he said.

The campus has in the past two years spent $11.3 million for energy-efficient lighting and other upgrades that should trim power bills, he said.

The array will also function as a teaching tool for students. Wright State’s newly launched master’s degree in renewable and clean energy has 18 students registered for class this year.

Fairborn Mayor Joan Dautel has designated Oct. 2 as National Solar Tour Awareness Day.

In Greene County, seven sites are on the tour. They include TFC Energy, LLC, in Fairborn, and sites in Yellow Springs including a homemade array featuring straw bales. TFC Energy’s large solar photovoltaic array tapped an Ohio Department of Development grant for funding.

In Montgomery County, tour sites include Sinclair Community College, which teaches green energy installation skills; the Dull Homestead; Dayton Power & Light’s Yankee Solar Array; the Mound Solar Array; a Dayton Daily News Distribution Center with a solar array, and various private residences with solar arrays.