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New solar facility starts operation Thursday

Posted at 7:41 PM, Jun 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-06 20:41:30-04

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette now has a way to save money on their utilities. The new solar facility on Cajundome Boulevard will launch on Thursday. 

UL has partnered with LUS to provide solar energy to the university. 

Dr. Terrence Chambers from the College of Engineering at UL is excited about what this will offer the university. 

"We’ve built this facility so that it has a variety of different types of solar technologies in it, and the idea is that we want to test all these different technologies to see which ones work best in Louisiana," Chambers said. 

Sunny days without a cloud in the sky are the best day for the facility to maximize its energy.

"In addition to making power, we will be able to do research, and economic development, and education, and outreach. And by making this a multi-use facility, we feel like it will have the maximum impact," Chambers said. 

The facility is expected to save the university $100,000 a year. 

"The good news is over the last year we have seen a continual reduction in the cost of electricity in renewable resources such as this. So, we are looking down the road to ultimately having our own facilities that we would have in Lafayette or contracting with others or partnering with others" LUS Director Terry Huval said.