News Release
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January 17, 2006
Boise State Grads Honored for Designing Solar-Powered
Lighting System for Nordic Trails at Bogus Basin Resort
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Boise
State students Nic McGhie, left, and Jeremy Taylor mount a lighting
fixture prototype on a pole with the assistance of electrical and
computer engineering professor Said Ahmed-Zaid as part of work they
conducted during the 2003-04 school year as part of their senior
project. Both McGhie and Taylor are recent graduates of Boise State. |
A
skier stands under solar-powered lights at Bogus Basin Mountain
Resort. Two Boise State University students designed the system as
their senior project. Photo courtesy of Mark Ryan Photography. |
For Boise State University alumni Nicholas McGhie and
Jeremy Taylor, designing a solar-powered lighting system as their senior
engineering project turned out to be far more than an academic exercise.
The system researched and designed by McGhie and Taylor during the 2003-04
school year is now up and running at Bogus Basin Mountain Resort, and lights
about 3 miles of trail for cross-country skiing at night. Built with the
support of charitable foundations, local businesses, Bogus Basin, Boise
State�s College of Engineering and literally hundreds of volunteers, the
system is believed to be the nation�s first permanent cross-country lighting
operation powered by alternative energy.
McGhie and Taylor, both recent graduates in electrical and computer
engineering, designed the system under the direction of Boise State
engineering professor Said Ahmed-Zaid. At ceremonies held earlier this
winter at the Frontier Point Nordic Lodge at Bogus Basin to celebrate the
opening of lighted trail system, McGhie and Taylor were honored for their
contribution.
�Nic and Jeremy played a critical role in taking this ambitious project from
a dream to a reality. They provided us with a solid, well-researched design
for a solar-powered lighting system that we were able to fine-tune and then
build,� said Carl Hoerger, a Hewlett-Packard manager who served as volunteer
project manager for the lighting project.
�We appreciate their excellent work and the support of Boise State
University,� Hoerger added.
The solar-powered system lights a 3.1-mile loop on Red Tail and Sappers
Return Trails. A smaller section of the Nordic Highway Trail, with flatter
terrain ideal for beginners, is also lighted from the Frontier Point Nordic
Lodge for about one-third mile.
The stand-alone system uses photovoltaic panels to feed battery banks that
in turn power highly efficient LED lights on 89 poles along the route.
Automatic controllers turn the lights on at sunset and off at designated
time.
According to Nordic Group President Jeff Fereday, the non-profit group was
committed to using cost effective and environmentally sustainable energy in
lighting the trails. �The cost of bringing a conventional power line to the
remote area was more expensive and less environmentally friendly,� said
Fereday.
For many years, community skiers and the Bogus Basin Nordic Group had
discussed the idea of lighting some of Bogus Basin�s 23 miles of Nordic
trails so more working people and youth could train, exercise and recreate
after the early sunset in winter. Bogus Basin pioneered alpine skiing under
conventional lights more than 40 years ago but no lighting was available on
the �Nordic side of the mountain� until this year.
Fundraising for this project began in 2003; a prototype system was erected
and tested last winter. The Nordic Group and its collaborators installed the
full system over a seven-month period in 2005.
McGhie and Taylor, who are now both employed in Boise at engineering
consulting firms, said it was a thrill to stand under the solar-powered
lights at Bogus Basin and see the system they had designed as Boise State
undergraduates illuminating the snow-covered Nordic trails for skiers.
�I don�t know if a lot of seniors get to actually see their design projects
built,� said McGhie. �We learned a lot working on the project. It�s really
great to see how well it worked out.�
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Contact: Nicholas McGhie,
industry@cableone.net, (208) 376-9820
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, University Communications, (208)
426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in
Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within
eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise
State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and
public service.
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Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007