Energy Week Recap

The Univeristy of Louisiana at Lafayette celebrated 2023's Energy Week October 23rd - 26th!

Energy Week is an annual event held during the Fall Semester at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, focusing on sustainability, innovation, energy efficiency and energy-related topics.

Energy week started with Show Watt You Know: Energy Trivia, on Monday. Participants included Students for Sustainability and Sustainable Design Club students. Students competed on their knowledge of clean energy and energy conservation. Sarah, the president of the Sustainable Design Club, was the winner and won a sustainability grab bag complete with a tote bag, wildflower seeds, reusable straws, and two T-Shirts!

Tuesday, the Office of Sustainability hosted multiple Bike Rides from Cajun Field to main campus. Students were shown the safest biking route, and taught about the physical, mental, environmental, and economical benefits that biking offers! The bike rides were held at 7am, 9am, and 5pm.

The Litter Pick-up event occurred Wednesday from 3 pm- 5 pm. The Office of Sustainability, Students for Sustainability, Fraternity organizations, and AmeriCorps attended. This pickup targeted Cajun dome boulevard to pick up remaining beads and other litter leftover after the homecoming parade. After the pickup, students were able to relax and enjoy a break from their phones and devices during Power Down Hour, hosted by Students for Sustainability and the Hilliard Art Muesum. Power Down Hour was held on the green space at the Hilliard Art Museum at 5pm. Students played card games, mancala, and made chalk art along the Hilliard entrance to decompress from classes.

The final event to close out Energy Week on Thursday was the Tour of UL Lafayette's Solar Lab and Solar Field at the newly built Antoun Hall. Sited on 6 acres in the University’s Research Park, the Louisiana Solar Energy Lab was built in 2016 to test several different types of solar technologies side-by-side (poly, mono, and thin film), and was built in a modular way that will allow the testing of new solar technologies as they become available. The entire lab is a 1.1 megawatt system. Thank you to UL Lafayette’s Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Energy Center for the fantastic educational tour.