Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, and people at UNC:
Solar Farm Planned North of Chapel Hill
Newsobserver.com
Sunlight Partners may be building a 4-megawatt solar farm just north of Chapel Hill. At a recent public hearing, local residents expressed concern over potential effects of the farm, such as noise, traffic, potential chemical leaks, increased stormwater runoff and sunlight glare. Solar researchers report traffic is minimal once a farm is built, and the sound generated usually can’t be heard 50 to 100 feet away, according to a 2012 UNC School of Government report. The inverter, which converts the power before it enters the electrical grid, sounds like an air conditioner, and vegetation under the solar panels continues to absorb runoff, the report says. The glare risk is typically in early morning or late evening, it says. Sunlight Partners would sell the electricity to Duke Energy. Read more »
Offshore Wind Farms Work like Hurricane Speed Bumps
Discovery News
Scientists at the University of Delaware and Stanford University say that in addition to generating several thousand megawatts of electricity, giant wind farms could also help mitigate the destructive forces of hurricanes. Simulations showed that wind turbines could reduce a hurricane’s wind speeds by as much as 92 miles per hour. “If you pack enough of these in, it seems like it’s realistic to think you can take some of the punch out of the storm,” said Rick Luettich, director of UNC’s Institute of Marine Sciences and the Center for Natural Hazards and Disasters. Read more »
Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at uncnews.unc.edu.
