After searching for the perfect project to make Elon University even greener, the wait has finally paid off — and is worth quite a bit. Elon will receive a total of $200,000 from the North Carolina State Energy Office to cover almost half the cost of new solar thermal panels that will heat water for the Colonnades dining and residence halls.

Elon was among more than 90 other institutions that applied for grants, funded by the federal stimulus package that passed last year, and is one of the 18 initiatives in the first wave of grant recipients.

“We were very happy we were in the first wave,” Physical Plant director Robert Buchholz said. “It allows us to do one of the bigger projects and use renewable energy to reduce our demand for gas and electricity.”

“Because the project is going to be installed on the Colonnades dining hall and other residence halls, the impact will be bigger than the systems on Lindner Hall,” Elon’s sustainability coordinator Elaine Durr said. “With the grant proposal that was submitted, approximately 54 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year will be avoided.”

“The idea and hope is that by providing funding, two things will happen,” state energy office communications director Seth Effron said. “First, there will immediately be job creation and savings for the institution receiving the grant. Second, it will show other institutions that these facilities can be installed, give them an idea of what they cost, what the challenges are, etc.”

Buchholz said the success of this project will help determine what other projects Elon may try in the future.

“We’ll see how well it does and see how it applies to other buildings,” he said. “North Area is going to be replaced soon. We hope to apply the geothermal or solar thermal systems to projects with the best fit.”

Unlike photovoltaic panels that are used to generate and store energy for electricity, solar thermal panels work to heat water directly. A “working fluid” is heated through the panels and then pumped, as needed, to a water storage tank to warm the water.

Students shouldn’t worry about having cold showers when the sun goes into hiding, though, Buchholz said.

“The water in the storage tank is maintained at the same temperature, so if there’s not enough sun to keep it hot, it switches over to gas. It’s the same as it works on your house, just on a larger scale.”

Construction on the solar thermal project cannot start until Elon receives the official award letter from the state energy office, but Buchholz said construction time will be about two to three months, depending on the time of year. Grant recipients must provide a way for energy conservation to be tracked, and Durr said that students will be able to view the energy savings through a web-based monitoring system.

“Our feeling is that this is one of the areas of the grant that is showing encouragement,” Effron said. “Elon’s project will have a very significant impact.”

Other N.C. energy projects awarded funds

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
• City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Commonwealth Brands, Rockingham County
• FLS YK Farm, Caldwell County
• FLS YK Farm, Martin County
• FLS YK Farm, Mecklenburg County
• Firstfloor K-12 Solutions, Cumberland County
• Frontier Spinning Mills, Lee County
• Gaston County
• McDowell County
• McDowell County Schools
• Patrick Yarn Mill, Cleveland County
• Pisgah Inn, Transylvania County
• Remington Arms, Rockingham County
• Schiele Museum, Gaston County
• Shoe Show, Cabarrus County
• Weaver Cooke Construction, Guilford County