New solar panels generate sustainable energy for Todd Building

Four Environmental Studies students worked on a proposal all last semester to get a wind turbine on campus. But they soon discovered a turbine would only save $24.00 per year on energy. With three weeks left in the semester, their plans had to change.

With the help of funding from the KRELF Fund, support from the School of Extended and Lifelong Learning, and various other sustainability groups on campus, ten new solar panels sit on top of the Todd Building on the University of Montana Campus.

These panels could potentially save the Todd Building .8 percent of their total energy costs each month, but the School of Extended and Lifelong Learning plans to add ten additional panels in the coming years.

UM News reporter/photographer Tara Oster took a closer look at the potential savings these panels could give the university