Sustainability Projects Brighten Anoka-Ramsey Landscapes

April 01, 2025

New projects are changing the look of Anoka-Ramsey’s campuses in Cambridge and Coon Rapids. At the same time, they’re giving students, faculty and staff opportunities to get close to innovative sustainability solutions.

Cambridge Campus Solar Array

A new 104-module solar array is returning electricity and classroom-bound data to the Cambridge Campus.

It’s estimated the panels will produce approximately 70,000 kilowatt hours of energy a year. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the average American home used 10,791 kilowatt hours of energy annually in 2022.

The array was funded, in part, through a grant from the Minnesota Solar for Schools program. Among the grant’s requirements was a stipulation that data generated from the solar installation be tied into learning. 

The installation provides real-time data and energy output information in a web-browser-based dashboard. According to Interim STEM Dean Andy Aspaas, that data is being used to shape classroom projects and curriculum across academic disciplines.

“It produces a lot of numbers and charts and graphs which are really nice skills for somebody in an introductory science course to develop,” he says.  “We’re seeing a couple of areas like chemistry and environmental science are wanting to get some early access to the information. In economics, they’re talking about doing cost studies over time to compare the cost of energy sources and how much we might be saving with solar energy.”

Aspaas, also a 20-year member of the college’s chemistry faculty based primarily in Cambridge, says he’s seen a growing interest in things like sustainability and renewable energy in the courses he’s taught.

“Issues related to climate change really strike a chord with a wider variety of students than I would have expected,” he says. “That idea of a younger generation being able to have some say in what the rest of their life is going to be like is a powerful idea to a lot of students.”

He says he’s hoping this solar array can be another facet of Cambridge’s identity as a place for those with an interest in conservation and environmental issues.

In the coming months, an electric vehicle charging station will be installed on campus, powered by the panels.

Coon Rapids Bee Lawn and Science Building Solar Wall

A recently dedicated area on the Coon Rapids Campus is making space for bees, birds and students to appreciate the benefits of untouched natural habitats.

Anoka-Ramsey Sustainability Committee Co-Chair Victoria Downey says the native grasses and flowers of the Bee Lawn will serve as a food source for pollinators and contribute to overall soil health and quality. “You don’t have to use fertilizer in the same way or pesticides in the same way. [Native plants] don’t require as much water as a traditional lawn does as well and they don’t have to be mowed as frequently,” Downey says. “They also have a deeper root structure and that can help maintain soil.”

She adds that the reduction in fertilizer and pesticide use will also contribute to a healthier Mississippi River downstream from campus, as runoff from those additions can negatively impact water quality.

The Bee Field is situated on the south side of the Science Building.

Atop the roof of the Science Building is another sustainability-minded feature. Installed during renovations during the summer of 2024, a solar wall is contributing to reductions in energy consumption.

Using warmth from the sun, the dark panel warms air before it is pulled into the building’s air handling unit. This passive warming can contribute to heat savings between 15 and 25 percent.