University of Tulsa’s Case Center going solar

The University of Tulsa (TU) announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) to power the university with photovoltaic solar panels, to be installed on the roof of the Case Tennis Center.

“PSO is proud to work with an innovative and forward thinking partner like The University of Tulsa to bring this new, renewable technology online,” PSO President and Chief Operating Officer Stuart Solomon said. “Solar power will be an increasingly important part of our energy mix in the future, and this project is an important first step in that transition.”

Under terms o the agreement, PSO will own and maintain a 300-kilowatt solar panel array for the university. The panels will use 936 polycrystalline photovoltaic technology, and are expected to produce 400,000 kilowatt-hours of energy each year. A solar array of this power is equivalent to the energy production of 70 residential rooftop panels.

“The University of Tulsa was recently named the greenest college in the state, and we are eager to take our sustainability efforts to even greater heights,” TU Executive Vice President and Treasurer Kevan Buck said. “By utilizing solar energy, we have begun exploring another way to lessen our campus’ carbon footprint – a move that’s important to our TU family.”

Power Secure LLC will coordinate the engineering, procurement and construction of the project. The electricity generated from the solar panels will be used to power TU’s Case Center.