As it stands, there are no organizations within the UW administration that focus on solar energy. That is, with one notable exception.

In 2012, a group of students came together to found UW Solar, with professor Jan Whittington as their adviser. The RSO is a vertically integrated project and a part of the Urban Infrastructure Lab. Over the last 13 years, student collaborators ranging from undergraduates to doctoral students have developed and advised solar electrification projects across campus.

These students, who come from a variety of disciplines, are involved in conducting feasibility studies, developing grant proposals, and outsourcing collaborators. Ultimately, they are working on a 30-year Solar Energy Plan that will help UW reach its carbon neutrality goals.

“It’s just a group of students who are passionate about solar and want to see more solar infrastructure on campus,” mechanical engineering student Graham Christenson said.

Often, other organizations reach out to UW Solar with project proposals. In the past, the RSO has worked closely with UW Transportation Services, the UW Farm, and Society for Ecological Restoration UW.

The Lot E18 solar canopy project is an example of this. UW Solar is working with Transportation Services to construct a solar canopy over 30 parking spaces in the E18 lot, adjacent to the Husky Stadium. Funding for the project is sourced from Transportation Services, after the Washington State Department of Commerce turned down a grant proposal.

The project initially received a lot of resistance. There are strong voices that don’t think solar energy is viable in Seattle because of its climate, explained doctoral student Haoyu Yue. UW Solar has different ideas.

“If solar will work in Seattle, it will work anywhere in the U.S.,” Yue said.

The construction site also sits above what used to be the Montlake Landfill. It operated between 1926 and 1966 and was shut down in 1971. Because of remaining subsurface contaminants, getting permission for any construction in the area is difficult. Still, UW Solar was able to acquire the necessary permits. Construction is estimated to run until July 2026.

Eventually, UW Solar and Transportation Services intend to cover the entirety of Lot E18 with solar canopies. If successful, the lot would produce 10% of UW’s energy demand. The electricity generated would, in part, be used for heating and cooling services, making UW less reliant on its natural gas power plant.

Members of UW Solar are also working with the UW Farm to develop a solar-powered indoor growing structure, called the Resiliency Tunnel. Currently, most of the food produced by the UW Farm is directed to the UW Food Pantry. Students who rely on the pantry have limited access to produce during the winter months, when food production is low. The Resiliency Tunnel will rectify this by producing an additional estimated 4,000 pounds of produce annually in a temperature-controlled environment.

The structure will generate solar energy for heating and cooling, lighting, general electricity for the farm, and power for the tunnel’s stormwater catchment system. The catchment system will feed stormwater into an adjacent pond that will support indigenous plant species.

“It’s really important to us that the whole structure is carbon neutral,” Christenson said.

Funding is already secured for the project, so UW Solar is working on budget and solar analysis.

“We’re kind of going through all the bureaucracy stuff, getting the permits, talking to the Design Review Board, talking to the Botanic Gardens,” Christenson said. “And we’re hoping to break ground this summer for the construction of it.”

Aside from representing solar energy development across campus, UW Solar provides an educational experience for students involved in renewable energy development and engineering.

Reach writer Abigail Meyers at science@dailyuw.com. Bluesky: @abbymeyers.bsky.social

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