The University College of the Cayman Islands has taken a step closer to becoming a sustainable campus as its rooftops are being covered in solar panels.
UCCI awarded a contract to local company Affordable Solar to install a solar array that will help power the facility.
The project is being funded by a European Union Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity (RESEMBID) programme grant. The $960,000 grant was awarded to UCCI last year to assist the educational facility’s become a solar-powered ‘living laboratory’.
“This project will not only benefit UCCI but also contribute to the sustainable development of the Cayman Islands and the wider Caribbean region,” said Cleveland Julien, UCCI project manager, in a statement.
UCCI says, recognising its status as one of the largest energy consumers in the Cayman Islands, it is “undertaking a crucial shift towards renewable measures, notably the installation of the solar array – a key component of the Sustainable UCCI project”.
It said the initiative aimed to significantly reduce UCCI’s carbon footprint and harness energy-saving opportunities.
The output from the solar panels, which will help power the campus, will be monitored in real time and will be accessible through a digital library hosted on an online platform. The data collected will be shared with other islands across the Caribbean, UCCI president and CEO Robert Robertson has said previously.
The RESEMBID programme, with a separate grant, has also helped fund free courses for students who are being trained in the installation and maintenance of solar panels, among other jobs in sustainability fields.
Interns selected from the UCCI and RESEMBID Apprenticeship Programme will be given the opportunity to shadow the solar array installation team and get hands-on experience.
Affordable Solar owner Dale Nickason said in the statement, “We are pleased to be collaborating with UCCI and RESEMBID on this project and are especially looking forward to sharing our expertise and knowledge with the interns. Their involvement demonstrates UCCI’s commitment to fostering the next generation of sustainability leaders.”
He added, “We believe that this project will serve as a model for other institutions and organizations in the region to adopt renewable energy solutions and promote sustainable development.”
The company will be installing a solar array system with a capacity of 150kW. The work is expected to be completed early this month, according to UCCI.
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