In May 2020, GW completed installation of new solar photovoltaic panels on five Foggy Bottom campus buildings. The solar panels were installed on the rooftops of Funger and Duques Halls, the Charles E. Smith Center, Monroe Hall and Hall of Government, Lisner Auditorium and the Media and Public Affairs Building.
Neighborhood Solar Equity, an organization focused on renewable energy and community development, developed the project. New Columbia Solar, in conjunction with the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, financed the project.
This project is part of a larger GW commitment to reducing our carbon footprint through renewable energy production on campus, contributing to the University’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2040. The project follows up on GW’s Capital Partners Solar Project with Duke Energy Renewables, which began in 2015 and provides GW with half of its electricity from three solar farms in North Carolina.
Other recent GW solar projects include the installation of thermal systems on the Foggy Bottom campus that heat water in residence halls and the “solar walk,” a photovoltaic array over a walkway on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus.