Four of five Central Valley CSUs to get more solar power

LONG BEACH
October 21, 2008 2:53pm

Four of the five California State University campuses in the Central Valley are among 15 that will see new solar power systems.

The state has partnered with SunEdison to provide solar power at 15 CSU campuses and the CSU executive office in a public-private partnership that is supposed to provide a zero-emission 8-megawatt solar photovoltaic power system to the campuses.

“California is going green and we are doing it first and we are doing it fast,” says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “This partnership is a good deal for the state, the planet and our economy – all at no cost to taxpayers.”

The 8 MW of energy produced by the solar panels are expected to deliver approximately 12 million kilowatt hours of clean renewable energy in the first year of operation. This amount of solar generated electricity represents 5 percent of the entire CSU system’s yearly energy consumption. Over the life of the contract, the partnership will offset approximately 9,485 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of removing 48,937 cars from the road, the governor’s office claims.

SunEdison solar panels will be installed on rooftops, atop parking canopies and in ground-mounted arrays at CSU Bakersfield, CSU Chico, CSU Stanislaus; and CSU Sacramento.

In the case of CSU Bakersfield, the agreement will see the panels installed over about 500 existing parking spaces.

“This is a very exciting opportunity that will allow the university to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” says Ashok Bhatt, CSUB project manager.

The system is expected to generate over 2.1 million kilowatt hours per year.

“Cost of the project at CSUB is estimated at $9.5 million, all of which will be funded by SunEdison,” says Mr. Bhatt. “We will purchase the solar energy at about five to 10 percent less than current retail rates while producing zero greenhouse gases.”

Also getting the solar power will be the California Maritime Academy, Vallejo; CSU Channel Islands; CSU Fullerton; CSU Humboldt; CSU Los Angeles; CSU Monterey Bay; CSU Pomona (Cal Poly); CSU San Bernardino; CSU San Bernardino (Palm Desert); CSU San Francisco; CSU San Marcos; and the CSU Office of the Chancellor, Long Beach.

An alternative financing method known as a power-purchase agreement is paying for the panels. The agreement allows CSU to buy renewable power at or below current retail rates while avoiding the cost of installing the system. Under this agreement, SunEdison will finance, build and operate the solar panels for 20 years.