UMich plans to spend $70 million installing solar arrays in Radial Power partnership

The University of Michigan plans to spend $70 million installing solar arrays on all three campuses and the surrounding areas following a vote by the University’s Board of Regents at their May 16 meeting. This installation from Radial Power, a Houston-based firm focused on sustainable energy, is expected to bring 20 megawatts of power to the Ann Arbor campus and five megawatts of power shared between the Flint and Dearborn campuses. 

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Shana Weber, associate vice president for campus sustainability, said Radial Power was carefully selected based, in part, on the firm’s interest in working closely with faculty and students.

“There were multiple University of Michigan units involved in the selection,” Weber said. “Radial was chosen from 16 firms that responded to that call for proposals as they are interested in partnering, not just to install solar panels, but to engage in the University’s research and teaching missions as well.”

Weber said the collaboration is still in progress but there are plans for the campus community to also use the installation as an educational tool. 

“Part of it will be developing conversations about what faculty and students want to learn from these systems,” Weber said. “So how do we install them in a way that there’s easy access to the data there? Maybe there could be a smaller scale more experimental installation somewhere on campus that’s more focused on a research question.”

Weber said the installment process itself should take about three years to complete and will begin with the finalization of site locations and other preparations for installation. 

“Our first step is to identify the full range of sites for installation and then phase them,” Weber said. “We will prioritize which ones we can start right away and then phase into others that might need a little more prep to get the sites ready. But we anticipate a lot of activity starting in 2025 if not sooner.” 

Weber said the University is attempting to make sure the purchase benefits the communities surrounding the campuses as well.

“Part of the installation job will also include installing solar out in the community, off-campus,” Weber said. “That’s one of the things that we’re very committed to — how we demonstrate a transition to renewable energy while also making sure that the broader community benefits as well.”

In an interview with The Daily, University Regent Paul Brown (D) said the installation is a significant step towards the University’s goal of achieving complete carbon neutrality by 2040.

“The goal of being carbon neutral by 2040 is a very optimistic and aggressive goal, and we are such a sprawling institution that it’s going to take every strategy in the book in order to achieve that goal,” Brown said. “We are also using geothermal energy in many of our buildings, but that and solar energy won’t be the only two. We will have to be creative and employ as many strategies as we can to achieve that goal.”

LSA junior Hailey Kempf, president of the professional environmental fraternity Epsilon Eta, told The Daily the goal of carbon neutrality is especially important today because it will help combat climate change. 

“Carbon neutrality is really important, especially now in the era of lots of climate change worry,” Kempf said. “Carbon neutrality is important because a lot of our energy is sourced from fossil fuels, which put a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a huge greenhouse gas. Other energy sources such as solar are cleaner and will reduce our carbon emissions and hopefully help reduce those greenhouse gasses that are causing climate change.”

Brown emphasized the University’s commitment to setting an example for others both nationally and internationally in finding effective solutions for climate change. 

“As they say, ‘if not here, where, if not now, when,’ and we very much embrace those questions,” Brown said. “If we want to lead by example in everything we do and everyone has come to the realization that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, then that is what this institution is here to solve. That is why we want to be a leader and hopefully an example of how to achieve it for other institutions around the country and around the world.”

Daily Staff Reporter Alyssa Tisch can be reached at tischaa@umich.edu.

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