The recent installation of 336 solar panels in the roof of the pavilion covering the parking area at Oberlin College’s Adam J. Lewis Center for Environmental Studies is the latest step in making the pavilion fully operational.

The final phase includes testing this month by the architectural design firm, Solar Design Associates (SDA). The structure was funded by a $1 million grant from Adam J. Lewis.

The PV panels were installed in the 8,800-square-foot roof by Burgess Electric LLC, area specialists in solar and wind power. Sunlight collected by the panels will be transformed into a maximum of 100 kilowatts of electrical energy, bringing the center’s total rated production (based on peak theoretical output under ideal conditions) to 159 kW, equivalent to the amount of energy needed to power nearly 15 single-family homes.

“With the installation of the parking pavilion, the College will have the largest photovoltaic array in Ohio and, I believe, the first entirely solar-powered building on any U.S. college or university campus,” says David Orr, Paul Sears Professor and director of environmental studies.

Steven Strong, designer of the PV array and the solar pavilion, agrees. Strong, a noted solar advocate, designer, and author, is founder of SDA, which is based in Harvard, Massachusetts.

“When Oberlin’s pavilion is finished it will be the first time any college or university has had an academic facility that is truly photovoltaic energy self-reliant,” Strong says. “The beauty is that it’s a win-win.”

A win for the College, of course, and a win for the City of Oberlin, which will benefit when surplus electrical energy is exported into the municipality’s grid.

“The Lewis Center will go from being an importer of electricity to being a net exporter of electricity on an annual basis,” explains John Petersen, associate professor of environmental studies and biology. He estimates that the two photovoltaic arrays will produce about 30 percent more electricity than the Lewis Center consumes on an annual basis.