Suniva helps power Science Education Center in Avon

NORCROSS, USA: Suniva Inc., a US manufacturer of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that it is helping power the Walking Mountains Science Center’s Buck Creek Campus in Avon, Colorado.

The new campus, which opened to the public on August 20, features a 33 kW solar system comprised of Suniva’s high efficiency solar cells and modules as well as other sustainable innovations. The Suniva solar cells will provide more than a third of the annual campus electrical requirements.

With a mission to inspire environmental stewardship through natural science education, the Buck Creek Campus is utilizing solar thermal and geothermal energy in addition to the Suniva solar electric array. Visitors will be able to see and learn about the latest innovations in green building and design, including active and passive solar, vegetative roofs, alternative building materials, geothermal and each of these systems will become part of the educational programs at the campus.

Using these technologies, the campus will use 85 percent less energy than a typical project of the same size. The campus will also utilize a building dashboard, which will help monitor and manage building energy and water use in real-time via a portal and the web.

“Our goal was to design a campus that could obtain LEED Platinum certification and exceed its requirements, making Walking Mountain Science Center the greenest school in Colorado,” said Brian Sipes, project architect and principal at Zehren and Associates. “Suniva’s solar array was not just an add-on to the project; it was deeply integrated at the beginning of the project to create a more sustainable building.”

“Working closely with RA Nelson, the general contractor, we chose Suniva because its high efficiency, low cost solar cells and modules will create the greatest amount of energy on the available roof space,” said Jason Perez, CEO of Conundrum Technologies. “As a less tangible, but equally important benefit, Suniva and Walking Mountain Science Center both embody growth through innovation, science and research.”