Northern Michigan University has completed the installation of an 81 kW DC rooftop solar array on its WellBeing Center, marking a major milestone in the university's commitment to sustainability and carbon neutrality. The system installation was completed the last week of July by Peninsula Solar, a Marquette-based, NMU alumni-owned solar contractor.
The rooftop array consists of 138 bifacial solar panels. The system is projected to offset approximately 44 percent of the WellBeing Center's annual electricity use, saving the university an estimated $11,700 per year in avoided utility costs. That output is roughly equivalent to the energy generated by 3,195 barrels of oil, or the carbon sequestered annually by planting 35,231 trees.
“Being this is the first rooftop PV system installation on campus, it will serve as a demonstration project that campus will use to benchmark its performance in our Northern climate and observe its impact on roof maintenance,” said Kathy Richards, associate vice president for engineering and planning/facilities. “The results will determine the extent similar projects will be implemented across campus.”
The WellBeing Center, which opened in September 2023 and houses the NMU Health Center and Counseling and Consultation Services, was designed and constructed with rooftop solar in mind, in keeping with NMU's internal green building standards requiring new campus construction to support future solar installation. The building's location, with minimal roof obstructions and no tree shading, made it an ideal site for the array, and student interest helped drive the project forward: in fall 2023, more than a half-dozen students submitted proposals to NMU's student-funded Green Fund requesting rooftop solar for the building.
Half of the project was funded through a $100,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Rural Development Fund. The university also secured a 40 percent rebate through the federal elective-pay Investment Tax Credit under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The array supports NMU's December 2023 commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with an initial target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2030. NMU estimates the system will cut the university's annual emissions by approximately 57 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or more than 1,700 metric tons over the projected 30-year life of the panels — a lifespan the system is expected to exceed.
About Peninsula Solar, LLC
Headquartered in Marquette, Michigan, Peninsula Solar has served Michigan since 2011, providing solar energy systems for clients ranging from residential homeowners to large commercial projects. Owned and operated by Northern Michigan University alumni, the company is known for its attention to design and installation detail and its ability to deliver reliable solar energy systems that perform through the Upper Peninsula's harsh winters.