The fast-moving alternative fuel vehicle effort paused for the public to get a good look at the cars – including one from Tampa Electric – at the University of South Florida on Feb. 4.
It was part of the larger USF Sustainability Showcase, sponsored in part by the Tampa Bay Clean Cities Coalition. Students gathered on the lawn outside the Marshall Hall building on the USF campus to check out three popular plug-in electric vehicles, including an all-electric Tesla Model S owned by a USF professor, a Nissan LEAF from Tampa Electric’s Green Fleet, and an extended-range Chevy Volt from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County.
Inside Marshall Hall, displays showed how students are collecting funds through the Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) to launch campus energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects. The Student Green Energy Fund is a grassroots, student-led initiative that gives students the power to vote on establishing a small fee to undertake these initiatives.
Among the SGEF-funded projects on display was a smart parking guidance system that uses smart sensor technology in campus parking lots to guide students to available parking spots via their smart phone. This saves students time and helps reduce gas emissions. In the fall of 2012, SGEF – with the assistance from a Tampa Electric solar rebate – helped fund the installation of a 24.5-kilowatt solar array atop the Marshall Center. Another project included the installation of LED lighting in a parking lot near the Sun Dome that improved safety and saves USF 4,200 kWh of electricity per year.
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