Sigma Chi Fraternity at CSU Fresno has completed the installation of solar panels that will serve the chapter house for the next 30 years.  The system includes 135 panels mounted on a solar structure that will also serve as shaded parking.  Included underneath the structure is additional security lighting.

The system will produce a maximum output of 42 kilowatts per hour and is sized to offset 97% of the chapter house’s $17,700 electrical cost each year.  The cost savings will be used by the Sigma Chi House Corporation to provide amenities and maintenance that will help give the undergraduate brothers the best possible fraternity experience.  The solar installation was donated by Fresno State Sigma Chi alumni.

The cost of the solar installation was $177,388.  The decision to place the solar panels on a structure instead of on the roof added 47% to the cost.  However, an analysis concluded that the structure solution was more cost-effective than the alternative because of the added cost to re-roof during the life of the system.

Historically, electric rates in California have escalated an average of 4% annually, and assuming this will be similar in the future, the payback will be 8.6 years.  Over the thirty-year life of the system, it will generate a positive cash flow of over $890,000 adjusted for the inflation of electric rates.  This is more than five times the original investment.  The project was not eligible for tax credits or subsides.

The official dedication was held on Saturday, August 4, 2018 at the chapter house.  All Sigma Chi undergraduates and alumni were invited with about sixty brothers attending.

The Sigma Chi chapter house at Fresno State is the first “Sig House” in North America to have a solar installation that is sized to offset most of its energy costs.  It  is the only one out of 244 chapters.  But there is more!  The Sigma Chi Foundation has told us that ours is “the first Greek-letter campus housing to have solar efficient energy.”  If you add up all of the fraternities and sororities in North America, this is a feat for which Epsilon Eta should be proud.