By Mikayla Mace Kelley, University Communications
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University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins spoke during the unveiling of the display, on the south side of the Student Union Memorial Center, on Friday, Sept.
Chris Richards/University of Arizona
Blue and red golf balls race along a winding steel track encased in glass. Starting with a rotating wind turbine and solar panels made in miniature, they rolled out miniature replicas of University of Arizona campus landmarks such as Old Main, Arizona Stadium and Main Gate Square.
The display balls pass through campus landmarks such as Old Main.
Chris Richards/University of Arizona
The balls represent the clean energy generated from Tucson Electric Power’s Wilmot Energy Center solar-plus-storage system south of Tucson and its Oso Grande Wind farm in southeastern New Mexico, both of which power UArizona’s main campus.
The entire display is more than 7 feet tall, almost 12 feet high and 4 feet wide. Other landmarks in its miniaturized landscape include the university’s Stevie Eller Dance Theater and the iconic palm trees and saguaros that dot the campus. The interactive display allows viewers to turn a knob to release balls that accumulate inside a model of the Wilmot Energy’ Center’s battery storage facility — the real-life version that stores solar energy until sunset or when the energy demand rises.
The rolling ball machine, unveiled today at the Student Union Memorial Center’s south entrance, was designed and built by local company Creative Machines. Every six months, the machine is moved to a different place along the path of the university group, where potential students and their parents are invited to take it when they visit the campus for the first time.
The machine serves as a visual representation of the Large Scale Renewable Energy agreement between the university and TEP, which begins in July 2021. The agreement will reduce UArizona’s carbon footprint by one-third and save the university millions of dollars over 20 years. agreement. life.
“Universities and other institutions of higher education have an important role as leaders in sustainability projects,” said the President of the University of Arizona Robert C. Robbins. “First, because sustainability is important to the education that each of our students receives, as well as the future of our society. And second, because of our efforts to exploit our research strengths in built environments and the future This interactive display is a powerful visualization of the University of Arizona’s commitment to sustainability and a proud reminder of our agreement with Tucson Electric Power to provide the campus with 100% zero-emissions purchases that power.” Sustainability is a key initiative in the university’s strategic plan.
Robbins, Tucson Electric Power CEO Susan Gray and Joe O’Connell (left), Creative Machines founder, president and artistic director, unveiled the display on Friday, to talk about the importance of the work between the university and TEP.
Chris Richards/University of Arizona
Every part of the ball machine is made by hand. The steel track is well formed and welded, each miniature model is sculpted to scale and painted by hand, and LED lights are placed inside the miniatures to illuminate them from within.
“This project is an exciting and unique opportunity to work with our neighbors TEP and the University of Arizona,” said Creative Machines founder, president and artistic director Joe O’Connell. “Everyone loves looking at a cute diorama that makes the world make sense, but what makes the little world we bring to life so exciting is that it’s an accurate representation of Southern Arizona, where we all live. It’s fun and lively, but it’s rooted in science. The movement of the balls directly stands for the movement of energy in the system. More and more, we find our art aligned with science and the bigger questions that are being addressed of humanity, and this delightful sculpture is a perfect example.”
Creative Machines also designs and builds interactive exhibits for children’s museums and science centers around the world. There is a small ball machine at the Children’s Museum Tucson, but the one at UArizona is the first large-scale installation in the city. It also includes three plaques detailing the university’s partnership with TEP.
A green, clean campus
Fiscal year 2022 marks the first full year since the inception of the Large Scale Renewable Energy agreement. The agreement provides for clean, renewable energy that eliminates all scope 2 emissions – those that result from generating electricity, heat or steam purchased from a utility.
It reduced emissions by about 65,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the last financial year. That’s the equivalent of taking nearly 14,000 gas-powered cars off the road for a year, it said. Trevor Ledbetterdirector of the university’s Office of Sustainability and an instrumental part of the team that coordinated the agreement with TEP.
Every part of the ball machine is made by hand. The steel track is well formed and welded, each miniature model is sculpted to scale and painted by hand, and LED lights are placed inside the miniatures to illuminate them from within.
Chris Richards/University of Arizona
“Large institutions like universities that have a high demand for energy and other resources are able to use that demand to influence decision-making at the local and regional level,” said Ledbetter. “It’s important to operate in that space where we can affect the change we’re pushing for. This agreement is an exciting first step for the university.”
Ledbetter hopes to make similar changes for operations at other university sites, such as the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and the Sierra Vista campus.
“The systems that we develop to serve the university and the community are very large but far from the campus, so we want to provide something that will give people a way to understand that connection, but in a fun and interesting way. that way,” said Joe Salkowski, senior director of communications and public affairs for TEP.
“For TEP, this installation symbolizes the steps we are willing to take to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals,” said TEP CEO Susan Gray, an alumni of UArizona first started TEP as an engineering intern. “As a company, we set ambitious targets for the community. By 2035, we plan to provide 75% of our power from renewable sources, reducing our carbon emissions by 80%. But we know that some of our customers have even more ambitious plans, and we are happy to help achieve those goals. We are very proud of our partnership with the University of Arizona, a true leader to keep our community going.”
Another physical manifestation of the agreement on campus is the solar panels installed by TEP in the university’s Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building. The panels shade a rooftop garden for the ENR2 Rooftop Photovoltaics (PV)+ Project, an experimental education and research site where students can study the co-location of solar panels and plants.
Sometime this fall, TEP will install another solar panel south of the university’s Albert B. Weaver Science and Engineering Library near the Student Success District, to serve as outdoor classroom shade or seating and bicycle parking.
The partnership with TEP is just one of many sustainability efforts UArizona is undertaking.
Building on the success of the TEP agreement, the UArizona Office of Sustainability launched the process of creating the university’s first ever Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. The process is expected to launch in October and last until autumn 2023.