UC Santa Cruz home

Project Clearinghouse

Sustainability Problem and Proposed Solution:

In the context of a pro-fossil fuel presidency and state wide dependency on nonrenewable energy production, it is imperative that we take local action to promote clean power in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate global climate change. According to the EIA, residential power production accounted for 35% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions; we want to help limit emissions and reduce this percentage for the long-term sustainability of our planet.

Project Categories:

Energy & Climate

Project Status:

Proposed

Project Location:

Both on and off campus

Stakeholder Contacts:

Contact Name	Email Address	Contact Number	Department
Emily Engle	eengle@ucsc.edu	8057056951	Environmental Studies
David Stearns	David@Allterraenv.com	8314252609

How to Join:

Visit our website to learn how you can get involved in establishing sustainable power throughout the UCSC community: slugsforsolar.com

Funding Sources:

Allterra Solar

Project Description:

Slugs for Solar strives to engage students and the UCSC community through advocacy, education and installation of solar power on homes in northern California. On Oct.1 2017 we plan to launch our 'Million Pounds of CO2 Challenge', a year-long campaign aiming to offset one million pounds of CO2 from entering our atmosphere through the installation of residential solar systems. To achieve our goal, we will meet with student organizations, market the program on campus, and host open meetings to educate community members about renewable energy. Those who express an interest in home installation will be referred to Allterra Solar for project completion. Offsetting one million pounds of CO2 will require the installation of approximately 50 (dependent on the size of the solar system) residential PV systems by Oct.1 2018.

Metrics for Success:

Slugs for Solar aims to install enough solar systems in the next year to offset one million pounds of carbon dioxide over the life of the panels (25 years). The progress of the 'Million Pounds of CO2 Challenge' will be calculated by measuring the energy production of installed solar systems and summing them to display total clean power generated. Working with our partner Allterra Solar (https://www.allterrasolar.com/), we can monitor the electricity produced by installed systems. Utilizing these metrics will allow us to determine the environmental benefits of the solar installations and associated Green House Gas offsets according to EPA estimates (https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator).

Next Steps:

Successfully offsetting one million pounds of CO2 will require a lot of outreach which is why we plan to establish a presence on campus and in the community. Documenting progress is important so we have created a website that will display the number of systems installed (total and by organization), pounds of CO2 offset, and additional environmental metrics like equivalencies in the number of trees planted and car miles driven.

Result Categories:

Infrastructure/Built Environment

Results:

Facilitating the installation of enough solar arrays to offset one million pounds of CO2 is the goal of the Slugs for Solar campaign. Our website details the progress made in installations towards our carbon-offset goals. We hope to engage the UCSC community in achieving these goals, helping to promote solar for a more sustainable future.

Resources

Search form

Project Clearinghouse

Slugs for Solar