The U of A Visitor Center houses this 6 kW system.  The system was installed thanks to the vision and perseverance of the student organization “ECOalition”, and participation from several UA and Tucson groups and volunteers, including UA Facilities Management, UA Campus and Facilities Planning, Libby Davison from the Campus Arboretum, Professor Jim Riley from the Department of Soil Water and Environmental Sciences, the UA Water Resources Research Center, the Office of Community Relations, Kevin Koch from Technicians for Sustainability, Betsy Bolding from Tucson Electric Power and residents of the West University neighborhood. The Visitor Center’s eco-friendly features include 36 solar panels, two 2,000-gallon cisterns and native vegetation.

“This is an example of how we’re using technology to secure the future and connect with the past,” said UA President Robert N. Shelton of the Visitor Center project. “The center’s new sustainable features demonstrate the UA’s longstanding commitment to the environment and help the University take the lead in the ‘greening of America,’” he said.

For more information on the University of Arizona Visitor’s Center sustainability program see: http://www.sustainability.arizona.edu/greeningthecampus/energymanagement/