SOMERS — What better place to demonstrate ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint than a college campus?

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is doing just that, with solar panel systems, high-efficiency lighting upgrades and motion-sensor lighting.

And what better way to promote going green than showing potential utility bill savings annually of $97,000?

“It’s metered because we have an agreement with We Energies,” said Don Kolbe, Parkside facilities director. “The electricity produced goes into the grid, but it never really leaves the campus. They pay us 22.5 cents per kilowatt hour. It’s a credit off my bill, which we then take to pay off the cost.”

A $100,000 matching grant from We Energies and a $50,000 grant from the state Focus on Energy program funded the bulk of the costs to install three sets of solar panels.

Focus on Energy also provided $35,000 for high-efficiency fluorescent lamps and fixtures to replace older, less efficient metal halide lighting in the DeSimone Gymnasium and Petretti Fieldhouse, as well as $4,000 for compact fluorescent lamps in the wellness center and weight room of the Physical Education complex.

Remaining costs were paid by the state and a campus fundraiser, Kolbe said.

A small start

The solar panels are visible at three locations:

— The roof of the animal care facility/greenhouse, just north of the Facilities Management building on the east side of Wood Road, has 60 fixed rectangular panels facing south.

— A free-standing, 14-panel unit designed to track the sun during the course of the day and adjust the angle of exposure according to the season is located several yards away in a prairie field.

— Another series of 60 fixed, rectangular, rooftop panels is visible from inside Molinaro Hall when looking downward and to the west from the third floor toward the Ranger Hall residential facility.

The Molinaro panels generate 26 kilowatts, which Kolbe admits takes a relatively small bite out of Molinaro’s power needs.

“That’ll handle three houses. So, it’s not huge. But it’s a start,” Kolbe said. “It’s definitely clean, and once it goes in, it’s pretty much maintenance-free.

“My guess is, it’s probably a 20-year payback. It cost us more to put it in three locations,” he said of the solar systems, “but we really wanted to demonstrate the various applications.”

Visitors can learn about the panels at a We Energies kiosk on the second floor concourse in Molinaro Hall. It graphs monthly, weekly and daily energy production by the solar system, as well as ever-changing, up-to-the minute data.

Kolbe said he sees future possibilities for green-energy collaboration with Gateway Technical College, with Gateway tapping into Parkside’s solar experience, and Parkside possibly drawing on Gateway’s experience with geothermal energy.

Better, more efficient lighting

Inside the gym and fieldhouse, the high-bay lighting is programmed to come on at the lowest setting when sensors detect motion, and only in the area where motion is detected.

The previous metal halide lights consumed far more energy because they only had one setting — high.

That system couldn’t be zoned, burned much hotter and also resulted in higher air-conditioning costs, according to Parkside engineer and energy specialist Dan Ferraro.

Because the older lights took longer to warm up, they needed to remain on all day, every day, Ferraro said.

“One of the big differences is light quality. These (new lights) give a much whiter light, a very white light, compared to the metal halide we used before,” he said, estimating the new lighting systems have yielded saving from 73 percent to 80 percent in the buildings.

Wind turbine?

Kolbe said the upgrades are the third step in a state and University of Wisconsin System plan aiming at greater energy efficiency and lowering utility costs, a plan that dates to the early 1990s.

“Our goal is to add a wind turbine next,” Kolbe said. “I guess money is the issue. I thought stimulus money would be available. Right now, that’s uncertain.”