SOLAR STRAND

Buffalo, New York, USA
Hood Design Studio

Despite its location in northern New York, Buffalo is the sunniest and driest city in the northeast from May to November, and therefore an optimal location to generate solar power. The Solar Strand is a quarter mile array of solar photovoltaic panels on the University of Buffalo campus. The panels generate 750 kilowatts of energy to power 700 on-campus apartments, saving $100,000 in electricity costs annually, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 400 tons. The panels are not fenced off, but rather accessible to the community as an educational space, built alongside wetlands and meadows. The original idea for the project, from the New York Power Authority, was to build a conventional ground-mounted solar array behind a chain link fence. In between the solar panels are outdoor classrooms made of concrete slabs recycled from old sidewalks where university students, as well as local students from kindergarten to twelfth grade learn throughout the year. The panels are arrayed on two levels. The concept of the design was creating cultural technology through a linear strand landscape and a DNA fingerprint that also paid homage to the expansion of the University of Buffalo to former agricultural land. In addition to the physical installation, there is also an app that includes wayfinding features through eight pathways across the site, as well as a dashboard that shows the environmental impact of the project since 2012.

2012
3 acres
590 feet above sea level

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