AU makes its mark on alternative energy development

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: August 27, 2009

Researchers with Auburn University’s Space Research Institute recently showed why they are at the forefront of solar energy development in Alabama: They took the lead in installing a power system using the technology at Lee County’s T.K. Davis Justice Center, the first public building in the state to be outfitted with solar energy.

From AU’s Communications and Marketing Office:

After months of research and analysis, the Auburn team managed the installation of a 16.56 kW grid-connected solar-powered system on the new addition to the center. The system will offset the energy costs of electricity the building uses.

“The Lee County Commission contracted with Auburn University to procure and install the system, to develop and manage a Web site and to conduct systems analysis and modeling,” said Henry Brandhorst, director of Auburn’s Space Research Institute. “We want to show that solar power is successful and to have others invest in it.”

“Every amount of power that we generate is power they don’t need from the grid,” Brandhorst said. And, if the center does not use all the power generated by the solar system on a given day, then their power meter literally runs backwards. The system will eventually pay for itself once the cost savings from the solar panels equals the cost of equipment and installation.

“Solar power systems are costly but costs are continuing to decrease every year,” Brandhorst said.

The release goes on to note how the research developed from the project will have practical applications for consumers, whether they eventually rely solely on solar at some point in the future, or whether they use it to supplement their traditional energy supplies. If you’re interested, you can view the building’s solar power output in real time at the team’s web site.

Solar power isn’t the only alternative energy area of interest to Auburn researchers. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers toured the university’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts Tuesday, getting “a glimpse of technology that could make bioenergy production more reliable and practical,“ according to this story in the Opelika-Auburn News.

Rogers helped bring about $1.5 million in federal funding for biofuels research at AU.

“I have been a big believer in it for years,” Rogers said of alternative energy research. “Global competition for oil is a loser for us.”

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the difference between legitimate federal spending and pork. As the old saying goes, if it comes to my district, it’s legit; if it goes to your district, it’s waste.

But Rogers captures the essence of the difference with his quote.

Here’s how I see it: Legitimate federal spending is money that, while spent in one place, has a likelihood of producing benefits for Americans broadly. Pork is money that goes into a district and stays there—basically a redistribution of tax dollars drawn from other areas of the country without much, if any, hope for return.

Of course, all this is predicated on the assumption that the government spends money on things and for purposes delineated in the Constitution ...

... And that’s another story.