Enlightened Education: Solar Engineering Design to Energize School Facilities

This 25-page paper was presented at the 2020 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and explores the potential for universities, colleges, and K-12 schools to implement solar electric infrastructure projects on their campuses. These potential projects would not only provide financial savings, but also provide learning environments and instructional opportunities for students. In this paper, a recent case study at Madison College is presented for a 1.85 MW photovoltaic system that is the largest solar rooftop installation in the State of Wisconsin. A Solar Roadmap was completed "in order to prioritize and sequence investment in solar across the multiple buildings and campus locations operated by the college." This paper also includes a "ten-step guide on how to create a solar roadmap, ... so that other schools can learn from Madison Colleges experience and replicate the process for their own institutions."