Greiner Residence Hall on North Campus.

UB celebrated the opening of The Solar Strand, its newest sustainability initiative, on Monday, April 23, 2012. Funded by the New York Power Authority and designed by renowned landscape architect Walter Hood, The Solar Strand comprises 3,200 panels stretching for a quarter mile along Flint Road on the North Campus.

The strand’s significance lies in the fact that it merges sustainability with technology, beauty and public engagement. In coming years, the array and surrounding landscape will serve as a classroom and research site for undergraduates and a field trip destination for K-12 pupils.

The installation, a work of landscape art and a gateway to the university, has a maximum rated capacity of 750 kilowatts—enough to power hundreds of student apartments, or even William R. Greiner Hall, SUNY’s first LEED gold-designed student residence hall. The building is packed with such green features as high-efficiency lighting, low-flow faucets and laundry-room counters made from recycled Tide bottles.

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