The largest solar power plant on a college campus has been completed after a two-year construction project.
The University of California-Davis partnered with SunPower Corporation for a 16.3-megawatt plant that will generate 14 percent of the campus’ electrical demand, according to The California Aggie, the student newspaper at the university.
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With the solar plant, UC Davis will only generate less than 15 percent of its energy from “carbon neutral large hydropower” and other renewable energy sources.
UC Davis aims to generate 60 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2017, and the new partnership required 62 acres of land.
The goal might be over-optimistic for what can be accomplished at an economically feasible level.
The goal echoes California law passed earlier this year that requires state-regulated utilities to get 50 percent of their electricity from renewable energy by 2030. University of California President Janet Napolitano wants to get the UC system to zero carbon emissions by 2025.
An earlier article from The California Aggie noted that UC Davis opted for a public-private partnership to take advantage of tax breaks. As the university doesn’t pay taxes, they needed a private company to partner with and gain subsidies to make solar power cheaper.
The project will be economical if grid electricity prices “rise more than 2.6 percent over the project’s 20-year period.”
SunPower owns and operates the project, then sells the power to UC Davis. The campus has other solar panels across its campus with a five megawatt generating capacity.
“SunPower is working with universities and colleges across the country that are increasing their reliance on solar power to support their sustainability goals and achieve the extraordinary long-term value SunPower systems deliver,” SunPower President Howard Wenger said in a press release.
When announced, the university claimed that it expected a third of its energy to come from renewable sources, which has not come to fruition.
The plant was paid for from “existing funds set aside to pay campus utility bills,” according to a fact sheet on renewable energy at UC Davis.