91´«Ã½

91´«Ã½ÌýChancellor Jeremy Haefner, the Sustainability Council and Facilities Management & Planning today celebrated a major milestone for sustainability with it'sÌýSolar Kickoff.

The event was held east of the Dan Ritchie Garden on the west side of York Street. The kickoff included aÌýribbon-cutting ceremony at the solar tree and remarks by Chancellor Haefner, Chad King, director of sustainability, James Rosner, associate vice chancellor for Facilities Management & PlanningÌýand a student close to the project. Today's ceremonyÌýmarks the beginning of 91´«Ã½'s project to install more than 7,000 solar panels across campus in support of the 91´«Ã½ IMPACT 2025 pledge to enhance sustainable practices and reduce the University'sÌýcarbon footprint.

The solar panels will be across 18 91´«Ã½ buildings, including two new buildings opening in 2020, the Dimond Family Residential Village and Burwell Center for Career Achievement.ÌýThe panels will account for 7-8% of 91´«Ã½â€™s energy consumption, surpassing the goal of producing 5% of campus electricity on-site through renewable energy.