Solar Power

Detailed information about SGEF projects -- both current and past years -- is available for viewing in an Excel spreadsheet.

SGEF Projects and Buget Master Work Sheet

Hydration Station Installation

Install water bottle filling station at SVC (outside Counseling Center on 2nd floor)

Seed Library

Initial support for creating a sustainable, organic seed library for students to utilize, foster health food growth, and enhance existing community gardens

My Green Lab Certification

Green lab certification for providing guidelines to conserve energy and initiate lab processes to ensure maximum sustainability. This is a national certification and guideline for best practices.

ATLAS Assessment Phase 2

Phase 2 will focus on establishing a campus-wide strategic vision with long term solutions without limitations of logistics to help develop Phase 3.

ATLAS Assessment Phase 3

Phase 3 develops the strategic plan for implementation at USF.

Magnolia Field LED Light Replacement

Replacement of original lights on a major field complex that supports club sports, intramural programs, open recreation for all USF, and special events. Will save energy and overall cost while also supported by a long-term warranty.

Bull's Nature Trail Design

Assessment and design for a nature trail to connect the Claw to Riverfront Park hiking trails.

Floor Scrubber (completed)

Automated floor scrubber for use in the MSC that will save water and energy while operating unmanned.

EV Charging Stations

Installation of Electric Vehicle Chargers in the Campus Student Center parking lot on the Sarasota-Manatee campus.

MSC Solar Bollard Replacement

Replacing current plastic bollards that require power with metal, solar-powered bollards.

S.A.F.E. Team Electric Carts

Replace four existing gas powered golf carts with battery operated golf carts to be shared by Student Goverment's S.A.F.E. team (safe night-time escort on Tampa campus) and the MSC.

Greencycle Composting Project

The Nest dining hall on the St. Petersburg campus currently produces 1,400 lbs. of food waste during weekdays and 900 lbs. of food waste on weekends. This shows a need for sustainable food waste initiatives on campus. Utilizing the USDA's Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements grant, as well as matching funding from Duke Energy and SGEF, the project will be spearheaded to implement a comprehensive program on campus.

St. Petersburg Campus Beach Restoration

Following the extensive removal of invasive vegetation from the St. Petersburg campus beach, heavy erosion washed away a quarter of the beach's sediment, making the beach look unpleasant, yet leaving an opportunity for restoration. With funding from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and USF St. Pete Student Government, this project will establish a living shoreline on the camous beach – creating educational opportunitiues for students and the community, while beautifying a central part of campus.

Oyster Restoration Brick Project

The Oyster Restoration Brick (ORB) project aims to replenish the declining oyster population in St. Petersburg. Given the increased use of plastic-based materials on seawalls amongst many other pressing factors, our community has seen drastic decline of oyster populations along developed waterfronts. This effort initiates a propagation system with clay 3D printed ORBs to help reseed areas which have already been eradicated to promote a healthier ecosystem.

Roller Shades

Installation of roller shades in the Sarasota-Manatee Student Center and Atala Hall which receive direct sunlight to keep the areas cooler which will result in less energy consumption of the HVAC systems.

Rechargeable Batteries for MSC Staff Headsets

Replace building staff headset batteries with rechargeable batteries to minimize the disposal of regular batteries.

LED Lighting in the St. Petersburg Campus Library

Replace existing inefficient first floor lighting with LED upgrades.

Tampa Recreation Center Woodway Treadmills

Replace exisiting treadmills with energy generating treadmills.

Humanities Book Giveaway

Supporting a used book giveaway on all campuses to help with sustainability efforts.

Solar Power

USF St. Petersburg campus has 143kW of on-site solar energy, which provides approximately 1.5% of campus' electrical demand.

The Net-Zero Parking Garage. This is a 100 kW solar array and a 200kW Tesla battery storage system installed in partnership with Duke Energy on top of our 5th Avenue Parking Facility. Solar energy that is not used by the garage for lights, elevators and electric-vehicle charging stations is stored in battery systems or put onto the electric grid for immediate use.

The solar carport on 4th street south. This is a 40 kilowatt solar array carport with an overhead canopy to cover parking areas. The 40kw solar array power about 15 percent of the Poynter Labs building and the parking lots lighting.

5th Avenue Parking Garage Solar Panels:

The Net-Zero Parking Garage. Located at 250 5th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Solar Panels at Poynter Labs:

The 40 kilowatt solar array carport. Located at 870 4th St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

The Duke Energy Online Dashboard shows how much energy is being generated from these solar panels.

In an effort to monitor, control, and optimize energy performance in real time, USF St. Petersburg campus installed energy sub-meters on select buildings. This autonomous system collects, tracks and analyzes energy building data which is then made available to the campus community through easy to read info graphics that is displayed on dashboards placed on strategic locations on each building.

Water Refill Stations

This project was first initiated in 2012 and since then 32 stations have been installed over the years throughout campus. The Elkay EZH2O® bottle refill stations offer an alternative to endless amounts of plastic water bottles. The refill station features a sanitary no-touch sensor with an automatic 20-second shut off timer. The refill station has a quick fill rate and it counts the quantity of plastic bottles diverted from the waste stream and displays the number on a green lcd screen. The refill station also features a 3000 gallon capacity WaterSentry® Plus filtration with a visual LED Filter Monitor to indicate when replacement is necessary.

Water Efficient Fixtures

Multiple buildings across campus have earned LEED points for having water efficient landscaping, innovative wastewater technologies and water-use reduction properties. Learn more about our LEED Buildings.

Florida Friendly Plants

The campus is surrounded by plant species that are indigenous to the natural plant communities of the Tampa Bay area. In cases where non invasive exotic plants are used to enhance the landscape, plantings are limited to those non-invasive species that are able to resist periods of drought and which require little fertilization and the use of pesticides.

Rain Garden

The Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, parking lot 19b and parking lot 5b incorporate rain gardens, which contribute to effective stormwater management. Not only do these rain gardens act as a carbon sink and reduce the amount of automotive waste entering waterways, but they replenish the groundwater supply and create a native ecosystem within the urban landscape.

Over the years, USF St. Petersburg campus has committed to continuously renovate, retrofit, and or refurbish existing buildings to upgrade their energy efficiency & performance.

LED Retrofits: The Student Green Energy fund (SGEF) and Campus Improvement Trust Funds (CITF) have contributed towards replacement of existing lighting fixtures with LED products in renovated buildings, Parking facilities and Open-use spaces. This includes; The parking garage, Residence Hall one (Floors 2-5), Soccer field and Davis Hall.

Window films: Installed in 2017, this project was intended to indirectly reduce GHG emissions through blocking heat and solar radiation at Residence Hall One (RHO) thereby leading to decreased electric costs.

Recycling Stations

Recycling Stations on campus are built out of recycled milk jugs. Recycling stations are strategically located across campus.

USF's St. Petersburg campus encourages students and staff to drop off their home recycling on campus. Home recycling can be dropped off into any of the 96-gallon recycling dumpsters behind the University Student Center.

Food Waste Management

The University of South Florida is working to sustainably manage food waste on campus. According to data from the National Resource Defense Council, 22 million pounds of food are wasted each year on college campuses, with the average college student contributing to about 142 pounds in food waste. The campus is continuously investing in initiatives and programs to increase awareness and improve our food waste management.

Across USF campuses, more than 100 projects have been implemented across our three campuses since the SGEF was established in 2012. Since the fund was consolidated on July 1, 2025, the history of the projects resides with each campus. Explore past projects by clicking the links below to download Excel Workbooks.

St. Petersburg Past Projects

Tampa Past Projects