Weber State to install solar array atop parking structure

Construction is set to begin this week at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, on a covered parking structure outfitted with solar panels.

The Ogden Standard-Examiner reports that the structure is the first of nine renewable energy projects that the university will be carrying out over the next two decades as part of the university’s effort to be carbon neutral by 2050.

A metal covering will be built over an existing parking lot on the northwest corner of the Ogden campus. The solar array atop the structure will generate 80% of the energy consumption of Lindquist Hall, according to a university release.

“We use this term ... 'economic environmentalism,'" says Justin Owen, energy manager for the university. “We’re doing (these projects) because it makes financial sense and helps us get our environmental goals.”

Lindquist Hall sits southeast of the lot, just across Edvalson Street. The building is a LEED Gold-rated building.

Installing solar arrays on covered-parking structures “lets you double dip on your space,” Owen says.

The construction schedule calls for the solar installation to be completed by fall semester.

“We really press those schedules so we don’t interfere with any of the academic operations of the university,” Owen says.

The closure of the university because of the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed work to begin earlier than planned.