The internationally recognized College of Forestry at Oregon State University will be powered by the sun, with the installation of nearly 340 kW of solar panels on Richardson Hall and Peavy Forest Science Center. Richardson Hall, finished in 1999, houses the college’s Department of Wood Science and Engineering and the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, while adjacent Peavy Forest Science Center, built in 2020, is home to the Department of Forest Engineering Resources and Management.
Peavy Forest Science Center is a highly-innovative wood building that makes use of advanced wood product technologies, some developed with the help of OSU, like cross laminated timber (CLT) and mass plywood panels (MPP), and incorporate cutting-edge technologies to reduce energy use, like dynamic nanotechnology-based windows which tint automatically, reducing unwanted heat gain in the summer while allowing passive heat gain in the winter.
The buildings are also a living laboratory, with 381 sensors which monitor wood moisture content, heat transfer, long-term movement of walls and floors, building and floor vibrations and other factors.
This collaboration between OSU, Oregon Clean Power Co-op and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition will put 339.45 kW of solar on the roofs of the two buildings.
OSU Forestry Investment Summary
