Thursday, March 18, 2004
By Mat Probasco, Associated Press
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — With no shortage of sunshine
over this U.S. Caribbean territory, a local university is launching
a solar-powered light system it hopes will save money and set an
environmentally friendly example.
The University of the Virgin Islands was unveiling the 72 new self-sustaining
lights at its St. Croix campus at dusk Wednesday, university spokesman
Patrice Johnson said.
"Inside of two years the university will essentially have
free lights," Johnson said, adding that the university community
also needs "to be conscious of how we impact the environment."
The university now spends more than US$1.5 million of its US$25
million annual budget on energy, project manager Patrick O'Donnell
said.
As electricity rates continue to rise with inflation, the school
has sought alternatives including solar-powered hot water tanks
at dormitories and more energy-efficient light-bulbs. So far, the
efforts have cut energy expenses 6 percent, O'Donnell said.
"Solar is characterized unfairly as being nice for the environment
but not cost competitive. And here we show that's very wrong,"
said Onaje Jackson, spokesman for Sustainable Systems and Designs,
which worked on the project.
The new system on the St. Croix campus consists of solar-powered
lights mounted on poles and requires no external wiring, Jackson
said.
"Put the pole in the ground and you've got power for 30 or
40 years," he said.
The system, paid for by a US$275,575 grant from the territory's
housing authority, also has allowed the school to light up areas
on campus that were previously dark.
St. Croix's government has installed similar lights at a parking
lot in Christiansted's historic district and outside a local shopping
mall, both of which have since become meeting points during emergencies
like hurricanes because the lights do not rely on power plants.
The university, which also has a campus on St. Thomas, "is
on the cutting edge by going ahead with this," Greenpeace spokeswoman
Kristen Casper said. "But it's a growing trend," she said,
adding that within a decade most U.S. universities would likely
be using some sort of renewable energy.
Source: Associated Press
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