Solar Strand
What generates 750 kilowatts of power and provides clean, renewable electricity to 700 student apartments? The Solar Strand—part of UB’s climate action plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2030. Designed by landscape architect Walter Hood, the photovoltaic panels are ingeniously configured to mimic a DNA strand. An installation of a 13,770-panel array, enough to power roughly 2,000 homes annually, is also underway—building on our commitment to clean energy.
Media Gallery
Boldness from above
Sustainability
UB RENEW
GRoW Home
🌱 Sustainability
If you’re interested in sustainability, there’s no better place to get involved than UB. According to the 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, UB led the world in addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal pertaining to climate action. UB Sustainability works every day to create a more sustainable campus and community through our teaching, operations and interaction with the community. UB Sustainability works with a broad range of campus and community groups, including the UB Stewardship Committee, to facilitate the university’s Climate Action Plan, which calls for UB to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.
💚 UB RENEW
UB RENEW is located in Cooke Hall. The RENEW Institute is a university-wide, multidisciplinary research institute that focuses on complex energy and environmental issues, as well as the social and economic issues with which they are connected.
🌳 GRoW Home
The GRoW (Garden, Relax or Work) Home was the University at Buffalo’s groundbreaking and innovative submission to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2015 Solar Decathalon. The DOE Decathlon is an international competition, held every two years, where the top collegiate teams from around the world are invited to design, build, operate, and market an ultra-efficient clean energy home, challenging teams to develop a sustainable project that performs well in 10 individual contests.