For some they serve as a paradigm of modern energy technology at work, while for others they’re an overpriced sun guard. Both are mistaken.
As I’m sure you know by now, Creighton has recently added solar panels on campus as a result of a grant by the federal government that included more than $1 million in funding for the project.
This grant was advertised hand-in-hand with a separate grant designated to offer Creighton a new Energy Technology major that’s set, according to the Omaha World-Herald, to begin next fall at a cumulative cost of more than $2.5 million.
For many, the solar panels are the epitome of Creighton’s hypocritical approach to tuition spending and penny pinching.
However, they should not be viewed as either meaningless structures in our parking lot or as yet another tired effort to be “green” on campus, but as something much more familiar to the student body: tools for education.
The solar panels, while expensive in their own right, are incurring no substantial costs to Creighton in and of themselves.
The federal government paid for the bulk of the installation, and the Omaha Public Power District has offered to cover the maintenance costs incurred. Even the $393,491 in one-time, indirect costs is relatively inexpensive when confronted with the long-term advantages of such technology to the student body and the attention the technology and new major will inevitably incur.
Even so, the financial advantages of the panels are negligible. They are only predicted to save between $24,000 and $60,000 a year in energy costs. Such an expensive project comes at an inconvenient time for Creighton, amid a hiring freeze, rising tuition prices and increasingly subpar lab equipment throughout campus.
“The whole point [of the solar panels] is to be an educational asset,” said Maria Jerrell, financial administrator for Facilities Management.
To no fault of their own, students were led to believe these solar panels are yet another example of spending irresponsibly for the sake of public relations, but this incorrect perspective leads to nothing but miscommunication and frustration.
The solar panels are much more, however. They serve as an example of Creighton coming to grasp on the quantitative needs of its students.
Rather than stunting the growth of the university at a time of financial hardship, Creighton is offering new opportunities to flourish in the long term. This should be admired.
Lennis Pederson, associate vice president for Administration, said the panels are designed to be replaced and upgraded as time goes on, giving students a very unique opportunity to work on the most current technology as the Energy Technology program takes flight.
As with all things, it may not come as quickly as we would like, nor as inexpensively as we would hope, but Creighton is moving forward with its promise to deliver unequaled educational and developmental opportunities.
While the other needs of the university should not be shirked or ignored, the solar panels act as a sign that Creighton has not forgotten its promise to its students and will move forward with its pledge to provide to the student body.
At the end of the day, despite the costs incurred, the solar panels will have Creighton planted firmly in one of the most important fields in the 21st century and will continue to do so for years to come.