{"id":261682,"date":"2026-05-07T07:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/261682\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T07:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:24:08","slug":"largest-solar-energy-field-in-schools-history-unveiled-at-miami-university-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/261682\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest solar energy field in school’s history unveiled at Miami University | Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Largest<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The largest solar energy field in Miami University\u2019s history was recently unveiled and school officials heralded the hybrid electrical power and conservation area as a unique feature on the main Oxford campus.\u00a0Located along the eastern campus near Miami\u2019s SR 73 entrance, the Sharon and Graham Mitchell Sustainability Park gives the school a new, non-traditional source of electrical power along with a new green space, said university officials. (Contributed)<\/p>\n

Zach Burnett<\/a><\/p>\n

The largest solar energy field in Miami University\u2019s history was recently unveiled and school officials heralded the hybrid electrical power and conservation area as a unique feature on the main Oxford campus.<\/p>\n

Located along the eastern campus near Miami\u2019s SR 73 entrance, the Sharon and Graham Mitchell Sustainability Park gives the school a new, non-traditional source of electrical power along with a new green space, said university officials.<\/p>\n

The more than 3,300 solar panels, located at the site of the former Thomson Hall, will feed into the Miami\u2019s existing underground thermal well heating and cooling system underlying much of the campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe we are the first in the country, maybe even the world, to have solar panels on top of a geothermal wellfield,\u201d according to a statement from Miami President Gregory Crawford from the recent opening ceremony for the $5 million project.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe are extraordinarily grateful to Sharon and Graham Mitchell for their principal gift\u201d that made the park happen,\u201d said Crawford.<\/p>\n

According to Miami officials, the park features two solar arrays \u2014 Western Solar North and South \u2014 with more than 3,300 ground mount solar panels that will produce around 2,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually.<\/p>\n

The Western Solar North array sits on top of Miami\u2019s Western Geothermal Well field. Completed in 2014, the wellfield consists of 690 geothermal wells, each 600 feet deep.<\/p>\n

The new park also features walking paths, seating areas, lighting and informational signage. Trail connectors from the walking paths lead to nearby Miami Natural Areas trails.<\/p>\n

Graham Mitchell, who along with his wife are both Miami graduates, said during the dedication ceremony: \u201cWe were recently reminded through the remarkable images from (NASA moon mission) Artemis II about how small and breathtakingly beautiful our world truly is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, here at Miami University we gather to take a meaningful step toward sustainability and one that will help protect the fragile beauty for generations to come,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways this moment represents both a small step and a giant leap forward in Miami’s ongoing sustainability journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sustainability park is truly extraordinary. We could not have imagined a more beautiful outcome when we were planning it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During the ceremony, Sharon Mitchell said \u201cstanding here today in this beautiful park we are filled with both gratitude and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope is that this place becomes a space of reflection, connection, and inspiration for all who visit,\u201d she said, adding \u201cmore importantly, that it encourages current and future generations of Miamians to renew their commitment to sustainability and to the stewardship of our shared home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The largest solar energy field in Miami University\u2019s history was recently unveiled and school officials heralded the hybrid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-261682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}