LEWISBURG, Pa. — Soil testing is underway at what will soon be the site of Bucknell University's solar array. The university will put 5,000 solar panels on seven acres of land near the West Athletic Fields and Bucknell Golf Club.
"It will supply about eight percent of the electricity that the university uses in total," said Jim Knight, Bucknell University director for energy and utilities.
"We're going to reduce 80 percent of our power generation from fossil fuel and move that into renewable energy," said Victor Udo, Bucknell University director of campus sustainability.
In addition to saving energy and money, the project will provide students with educational opportunities.
"They're also going to learn about the technical aspect of renewable energy, and also how we are helping to reduce waste, reduce consumption, and use more cleaner energy," Udo said.
Bucknell University has partnered with Encore Renewable Energy out of Burlington, Vermont. Encore's founder and CEO is a Bucknell graduate.
University officials say installing a solar array has been in the works for a long time. They are happy it is happening now.
"Once we get all the permits in place, we're going to regrade the site a little bit. Once that's done, they can start installing the posts the panels will be mounted on," Knight said.
Officials at Bucknell expect the solar array to be up and running by this fall.