The University of North Texas is leading the charge to produce a quality green-collar workforce by building a state-of-the-art Zero Energy Research Laboratory, where students and faculty will get first-hand experience with sustainable energy technologies of tomorrow.
The facility is designed to test emerging technologies that allow building systems to have a net-zero consumption of energy, and once completed will be the first of its kind in the United States. The UNT Board of Regents approved the facility on June 17 (Friday), and construction on the lab is slated to begin in July at UNT's Discovery Park, a 300-acre research campus.
The 1,200 square-foot structure is expected to be completed in early 2012. The building will include a main utility core, a bathroom with a shower, a small kitchen with a refrigerator and an open flexible laboratory space for research. Initially, the facility will be powered by solar energy and will be expanded to include other alternative energy sources such as wind to allow a wide range of zero-energy building research.