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Kids learn about renewable energy
Children fill a solar balloon with air. Photo: DOUGLAS LEVERE
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Kids take part in a scavenger hunt at the Solar Strand. Click on the image to see a larger version. Photo: DOUGLAS LEVERE
Children from UB’s Child Care Center learned about renewable energy, art and sustainability during a visit Wednesday to the university’s Solar Strand.
The children took part in various activities, including a scavenger hunt and baking cookies in a solar oven.
A partnership with the New York Power Authority, the Solar Strand is a 3,200-panel photovoltaic array at the Flint Road entrance to the North Campus. At 750 kilowatts, it generates enough clean, renewable electricity to power hundreds of student apartments.
Since UB flipped the switch in April, the array has generated 325,000 kilowatt hours of electricity—enough power to match the annual demand of 40 households. It also equals saving hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
As the children’s presence suggests, the array also is an outdoor classroom. UB expects to hold additional classes there after construction crews put final touches on the site, such as laying concrete slabs and other user-friendly features.
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