Rooftop Solar Installed On Pitt Bradford Campus
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is celebrating the installation of a 108kW rooftop solar array on the state-of-the-art George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building on the Pitt-Bradford campus in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Now operational, it is expected to produce 116,500 kWh of electricity each year, offsetting approximately 40% of the building’s total electricity use.
The rooftop solar installation is a key part of the University’s goal to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the Pitt-Bradford building, which serves as the campus hub for engineering, computing, and energy studies. It will help to power the facility’s virtual reality lab, networking lab, makerspace, ample fabrication space, and engineering shops, all of which provide students with invaluable hands-on learning opportunities.
“Pitt-Bradford is proud to boast the largest rooftop array across five University of Pittsburgh campuses to date,” comments Dr. Matt Kropf, Director of the Energy Institute at Pitt-Bradford. “This new solar installation joins one on the Richard E. and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center in helping Pitt-Bradford students experience the importance of solar first-hand in our growing energy and science curricula and our region.”
How does it work?
The Pitt-Bradford system is comprised of 200 bifacial modules which are installed in two separate arrays on either side of the penthouse. Each array is controlled by a SolarEdge inverter and uses SolarEdge Power Optimizers attached to each pair of modules to enable them to operate independently from others on the same string. This provided the flexibility to position the modules in an east-west configuration and in uneven string lengths – crucial to maximize the number of modules that could be fitted onto the roof. The Power Optimizers bring additional production gains by mitigating power losses caused by module degradation and mismatch. The latter is especially common in bifacial modules due to the reduced surface albedo and irradiance differences on the rear side of the modules caused by their close proximity to the roof.
History
Pitt Bradford was awarded a $230,000 grant from the Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund toward the green building and renewable attributes of the Engineering & Technology Building. This grant opportunity was secured by Matt Kropf, associate professor of engineering technology at Pitt-Bradford.
The grant was used to fund the rooftop solar array on the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building that houses Pitt Bradford’s new engineering technology programs on campus. To date this is the largest rooftop solar array in the University of Pittsburgh campuses.
The solar array is projected to produce ~ 116,500 kWh/year; with an associated building dashboard that will aid in community education and engagement. The solar array is estimated to save the University at least $10,250 annually in electricity costs.