Swanson touts future of solar energy
Washington & Jefferson College senior Evan Rosenberg explains the solar panel research his team of students has undertaken on campus.
Dr. John A. Swanson
Tori Haring-Smith extended a verbal bouquet as she introduced the speaker.
“At the groundbreaking for the Swanson Science Center,” the president of Washington & Jefferson College recalled, beaming, “Dr. Swanson said, ‘Most people say you should give until it hurts. I give until I smile.'”
Then John A. Swanson, who has given so much to the school and the realm of engineering, strode to the podium Thursday night and gave something else of value – a rousing lecture on solar energy.
Swanson spoke for an hour on “The Future of Small Scale PV Solar Energy” to kick off the W&J Energy Lecture Series for this academic year. Four other presentations, on other forms of energy, are scheduled through late March.
His talk was breezy, spiced with wry humor, and captivated an audience of about 70 inside the Howard J. Burnett Center’s Yost Audiorium. Swanson fielded questions for about 20 minutes afterward.
“We don’t have an energy problem in this country. We have an energy opportunity,” Swanson said, en route to explaining how solar can be – and should be – a larger part of that equation.
He pointed out that this renewable source provides a mere 1 percent of electrical energy in the country, and 10 percent is a reasonable goal. Solar’s pros, Swanson said in a PowerPoint demonstration accompanying his lecture, are that sunlight is free and widely available, and the system is economically sound and environmentally friendly: no noise, no carbon dioxide production, and it replaces an individual carbon footprint.
Non-daylight, clouds and jet trails are the leading cons.
The expense of implementing a residential solar system, and fears of the resultant appearance, dissuade a number of people. “It’s viewed as too expensive, and people complain that it’s ugly. No it’s not,” Swanson said.
Swanson has a 10-kilowatt system on the roof of his retirement home in Florida that intiially cost $50,000-plus. Federal incentives lowered the price, however. Subsequent utility bills also are reduced.
Panel prices also have declined precipitously over the past 35 years.
Photovoltaic solar panels – the aforementioned PV – is the key to everything. Each goes about 3 feet by 5 feet, weighs 42 pounds, and converts sunlight to electricity by producing direct current. DC is converted to alternating current by system inverters, which are sometimes criticized for wearing out in 10 to 20 years.
His conclusion about solar?
“It works, and anybody can do it,” Swanson said. “It’s price-effective, and the prices are coming down. If someone can fix inverters, we can go gangbusters.”
His imprint on W&J is profound. He was on the board of trustees there for 12 years, provided the naming gift for the John A. Swanson Science Center and is assisting students there.
The Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh also bears his name.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Swanson began his career at the Westinghouse Astronuclear Laboratory in 1963. Seven years later, he founded Swanson Analysis Systems, which eventually was renamed Ansys Inc. It is a global provider of engineering simulation software that is based at Southpointe.
Swanson was preceded on the dais by Evan Rosenberg, a W&J senior who leads a four-student team that, for 15 months, has done solar panel research on campus. They are collecting data from 18 solar panels at the Swanson Solar Laboratory, on the roof of the Facility Services building.
Rosenberg said they are trying to determine “whether it is worth investing in” setting up a permanent array of panels on campus.
He, Bayleigh McMenamin, Zachary Rosinger and Michael Roth comprise the team that is under the auspices of Swanson and assistant professor Michael McCracken. Rosenberg thanked Haring-Smith for helping to secure funding and Swanson for donating panels.
Lecture II in the series will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23. The topic: “Should We Rethink Nuclear?”