The University of Central Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 sustainability efforts will take center stage Friday and Saturday when clean-energy enthusiasts will tour solar power installations around Orlando.

UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 main campus is a featured stop on a tour of residential and commercial sites from noon to 4 p.m. both days. The local tour was organized by the Florida Renewable Energy Association as part of the 20th Annual National Solar Tour conducted by its parent organization, the American Solar Energy Society.

On a national level, the tour exhibiting renewable energy technologies is the largest grassroots solar event in the country, with over 160,000 participants visiting 3,200 solar energy sites.

They 麻豆精品 S檒l have plenty to see at UCF, said David Norvell, the university 麻豆精品 S檚 assistant vice president for sustainability initiatives.

Among the featured stops on the UCF campus are:

  • The biggest and most recent solar installation at UCF, a cluster of photovoltaic panels alongside Garage B that generates 107 kilowatts, enough to power about 50 homes.
  • A solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles adjacent to Memory Mall near Health and Public Affairs II building.
  • Photovoltaic panels mounted as an awning on the side of the Engineering I building that provide both energy and shade.
  • A 22 kilowatt installation on the roof of the Harris Corporation Engineering Center.

    • Solar power has become more economically feasible since the university installed the solar awning on the Engineering I building.

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    Solar energy is one tool in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 quest to be a greener campus. In 2007, UCF President John C. Hitt signed the American College & University Presidents 麻豆精品 S� Climate Commitment, making UCF one of the first to pledge to be climate neutral by 2050.

    To achieve that goal, the university must have no net greenhouse gas emissions. There are interim goals, including a big one already underway: ensuring that by 2020, 15 percent of the energy used by UCF comes from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels.

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    The solar tour, which also includes several stops at homes in Orlando, is free and open to the public. The sites are the same on each day. Visit here for more information.