A new white paper authored by Sustainable Community Development Clinic student-attorneys Daniel Franz ('20) and Fripp Prioleau ('20), under the supervision of Professor Deborah Cantrell, seeks to understand the roadblocks to solar development on the University of Colorado Boulder’s campus and serve as a roadmap to guide future proponents of solar on campus.
The white paper focuses on how increasing solar on campus can help CU reach its carbon reduction goals, substantiate CU’s sustainable image, and contribute to energy security and resilience. It also explores challenges that have hindered solar development in the past and opportunities to promote it in the future through student and administrative leadership. Prioleau said he hopes that others will use the paper as tool to promote solar on campus.
"CU is known for its sustainability and environmental academic programs, so I was surprised to see how little renewable development there was on campus," Franz said.
"Our main goal for the white paper was to capture the complexity of CU’s relationship to renewable development from technical, financial, and political perspectives. The hope for the paper is that it can be a tool for solar proponents to have the necessary background when they try to effect changes on campus."
The paper outlines CU’s existing commitments to carbon reduction and the integration of carbon reduction goals into campus planning; explains background issues surrounding the science, finances, support, and trends of solar development by universities; and evaluates CU's progress toward stated goals, how much development is still required to meet those goals, and what challenges have impacted CU's past solar development. The paper concludes by identifying potential opportunities for different actors to influence future solar development to ensure that CU meets its carbon reduction commitments.
Franz and Prioleau presented their findings at the annual Campus Sustainability Summit on April 18.
Read the white paper here.
Pictured (L-R): Professor and Director of Clinical Programs Deborah Cantrell, Fripp Prioleau ('20), and Daniel Franz ('20).