{"id":22556,"date":"2017-11-02T10:13:18","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T14:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=22556"},"modified":"2019-03-12T10:48:26","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T14:48:26","slug":"thompson-rivers-university-solar-compass-walkway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/thompson-rivers-university-solar-compass-walkway\/","title":{"rendered":"Thompson Rivers University Celebrates New Solar Compass Walkway, a First in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is celebrating the grand opening of its new solar compass walkway today. This is Canada\u2019s first solar walkway. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The solar compass walkway will gather enough energy from the sun to produce about 10,000 Kilowatt (kW) hours of electricity annually. The 75-foot walkway features thick glass plates, including 64 super-durable solar panels. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The solar compass walkway uses an existing compass on the sidewalk outside of the Arts and Education (AE) building as a platform for the new technology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Thompson Rivers University - The Solar Compass\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OrqHS01hSK8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/kamino.tru.ca\/experts\/home\/main\/bio.html?id=mmehta\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Mehta<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, project lead and professor of geography and environmental studies at TRU, the walkway will produce enough electricity to power all of the computers in the AE building\u2019s student computer labs year-round. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you look around you\u2019ll see many kilometers of road, sidewalk and parking lots that only serve one purpose,\u201d Mehta said <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/inside.tru.ca\/2017\/04\/28\/solar-road-project-shines-light-on-renewable-energy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in a statement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cBy embedding photovoltaic modules into this infrastructure we can generate electricity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the amount of power generated isn\u2019t as much as the power produced from solar panels mounted at an angle facing south, flat solar panels can produce about 75 percent of the power generated in more ideal orientations. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The idea for the project began two years ago when Mehta applied for a grant from the university\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tru.ca\/sustain\/funds.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sustainability Grant Fund<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which holds an annual competition for students and staff to apply for innovative projects on campus, and won. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The original project began with a solar sidewalk, a much smaller stretch of sidewalk consisting of 16 panels, in July 2017. The purpose of the smaller sidewalk was to make sure that the project could be done correctly on a smaller scale. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sidewalk functioned as a \u201ctest\u201d of the installation methodology \u201cbecause nobody has done it with this kind of technology before,\u201d said Mehta. \u201cIt\u2019s completely new terrain for us dealing with permitting and inspection and using the right kind of certified equipment.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 16-panel sidewalk was installed successfully, which led to the construction of the larger, much more complex 64-panel project &#8212; the solar compass walkway. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRU\u2019s investment in the project is around $30,000. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mehta has been working with Solar Earth Technologies (SET), a company that develops, produces and markets solar-powered roadways and electric vehicles, for the past two years to develop the technology for the project. SET donated the 64 solar panels for the compass, as well as the 16 solar panels for the sidewalk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRU students played a significant role in the project as well. Several students served on the grant committee to secure the funds for the project. More than a dozen students from the trades program at TRU worked on the installation itself, including students from electrical foundations who did the wiring and graft work. Some students even took a turn at the jackhammer. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor us, it was a perfect opportunity of a project on campus that brings in students for real world learning,\u201d said Mehta. \u201cThat almost never happens. If you look at any construction project on campus, it\u2019s independent contractors that are brought in usually under some kind of process and they typically don\u2019t let anyone else in the project for liability and other reasons. In our case, we actively and deliberately included students as part of their training.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mehta sees the solar compass as accomplishing several goals simultaneously. On one hand, it will create a drive for more innovation within the field of sustainability. Mehta speculates that once people begin to think about embedded solar technologies, they\u2019ll start to look for other applications, and those applications could be wide-ranging depending on the technological platform selected. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, Mehta believes the compass makes solar power much more visible than it normally is. \u201cTypically, solar is hidden on a rooftop or somewhere, hidden in a field. This [compass solar walkway] makes it top of mind, something that we walk over that you see daily,\u201d Mehta said. \u201cSo I believe that that will help create a shift in awareness of renewable energy and its potential and its applications.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TRU\u2019s solar compass project offers not only an innovative renewable energy source, but a milestone for sustainability on campuses. Mehta is willing to work with other universities or colleges around the world, in North America in particular, who may want to do something similar.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is celebrating the grand opening of its new solar compass walkway today. This is Canada\u2019s first solar walkway. The solar compass walkway will gather enough energy from the sun to produce about 10,000 Kilowatt (kW) hours of electricity annually. The 75-foot walkway features thick glass plates, including 64 super-durable solar panels. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":22466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[637,233,229,643],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-energy","category-sustainable","category-lead-stories","category-university-action"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway.png",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway-224x144.png",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway-300x193.png",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway.png",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway.png",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway.png",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway.png",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lauren Flum","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/lauren-flum\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is celebrating the grand opening of its new solar compass walkway today. This is Canada\u2019s first solar walkway. The solar compass walkway will gather enough energy from the sun to produce about 10,000 Kilowatt (kW) hours of electricity annually. The 75-foot walkway features thick glass plates, including 64 super-durable solar panels.&hellip;","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TRU-Sustainable-Solar-Compass-Walkway.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}