Blue Sky Grant money unavailable on campus
The Sam Skaggs Family Equine Education Center now features 264 solar panels, funded in part by Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky Grant.
Rocky Mountain Power has a variety of Blue Sky customers throughout Utah, who pay $1.95 more per 100 kilowatt-hour (kwh) in order to support Blue Sky projects. Participants then have the opportunity to apply for the Blue Sky Grant, which has funded more than 112 projects in Utah. Ninety-six percent of these were proposals to install solar panels.
“Utah is one of the best states in the country for installing solar (panels),” said USU Sustainability Coordinator Alexi Lamm. “USU is working to try to add more renewable energy where we can make it feasible. We’re definitely pursuing it.”
The Equine Center is not the first building on campus to see solar panels. Recent sustainability projects also include the solar panel installation on the south side of the Agriculture Sciences Building. CAAS’s newest solar panel project was the first Blue Sky Grant to be implemented north of Ogden, which some would say makes USU a leader in the sustainability community.
USU has several on-campus programs to promote sustainability, including the Blue Goes Green initiative, which is financed by student fees. The $3 fee has increased the number water-bottle filling stations on campus, as well as the number of bike racks on the Aggie Shuttle.
“We have some challenges with it,” said Daniel Ferris, director of utilities. “The Blue Sky Grant can only be used on facilities that are served by Rocky Mountain Power.”
USU’s main campus is served by Logan City Light & Power, which means the Blue Sky Program cannot fund any sustainability projects on campus. However, that doesn’t keep USU from going green.
“We’re actually teaming up with Rocky Mountain Power also in some other projects for replacing outdated lighting with more efficient lighting as well,” Ferris said. “It’s not part of the Blue Sky program, but there are energy incentives that Rocky Mountain Power has.”
The Space Dynamics Lab is a prospective site for this project.
— brennakelly818@gmail.com