Standard Solar, Inc., announced today that it will install solar power at the University of Delaware in partnership with Perpetual Energy Solutions LLC. The system will be installed on three buildings located on the main campus of the University of Delaware in Newark totaling 2000 panels and 850 kilowatts. This will be the first joint project between the two companies since the announcement of their partnership in June 2010.

The Delaware Field House will house the largest rooftop solar array in Delaware

The solar array planned for one of the installations, atop the Delaware Field House, will be the largest rooftop installation in the state of Delaware.

The University of Delaware has long been a proponent of solar energy dating back to the creation of a solar energy program in the early 1970′s. The University has provided the solar industry with many new developments which have helped accelerate the growth of the solar industry in the United States and abroad. It’s leadership continues with the adoption of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) under which the University buys electricity from Perpetual, the actual system owner, which can claim the tax and related benefits from their ownership position. 

The University’s commitment to solar power lies not only in the research labs across campus, but also in the student body itself. The solar arrays will be funded in part by the senior class gift from the class of 2009, demonstrating the importance of green initiatives to University students beyond the classroom setting.

The PPA comes on the heels of the state of Delaware passing a strengthened Renewable Energy Standard Portfolio. In late July, the Delaware state Senate passed Senate Bill 119, boosting renewable energy requirements to 13% by 2015 with 1% coming from solar. The bill requires that 25% of electricity be generated by renewable sources with 3% coming from solar by the year 2025.

The commitment to renewable energy in the state has made it possible for institutions like the University of Delaware to undertake large scale renewable energy initiatives that are positioning Delaware as one of the front runners in the race to reduce our nation’s carbon emissions.

Catholic University to Announce Solar Panel Installation

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21

WHERE: The Catholic University of America

Flather Hall rooftop
620 Michigan Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C.

MEDIA: Reporters and photographers who would like to cover the event must contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy at 202-319-5600. Video from the event can be seen at http://live.cua.edu/live-solar.cfm.

STORY DETAILS: See release below.

Panels to Provide Electricity to Four Catholic University Buildings

CUA Partners with Washington Gas Energy Services and Standard Solar to Create Washington’s Largest Solar-Energy System

More than 1,000 solar panels will be installed on four Catholic University buildings this fall, creating the largest solar-energy system in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

CUA has signed a 20-year agreement with Washington Gas Energy Services Inc. (WGES) to purchase electricity generated by the solar panels at guaranteed prices.

In November, Standard Solar Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., will install 1,088 3-by-6-foot solar panels on the roofs of the Raymond A. DuFour Center and Aquinas, Flather and Gibbons halls. Collectively, the panels will comprise the largest photovoltaic system in the Washington area, in terms of electricity that will be produced.

The solar-panel system, which will be installed at no cost to CUA and be owned and operated by WGES, will produce about 340,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. The projected solar-generated electricity represents about three-quarters of 1 percent of the 44 million kilowatt hours used annually by the university. The electricity will be used by the buildings where it is produced.

By the end of the year, installation of 30,233 square feet of solar panels will be completed and the panels will be producing electricity. The four buildings were chosen for their southern exposure, among other criteria, after an evaluation of 20 campus buildings.

“As part of our Catholic faith, we strive to be good environmental stewards,” said Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., president of Catholic University. “Including solar ­ a ‘clean’ energy that doesn’t pollute or create greenhouse gases ­ among Catholic University’s resources is a perfect fit for the university’s mission.”

The agreement is the latest accomplishment in CUA’s commitment to being environmentally friendly. In 2002, CUA was the first university in the Washington area to purchase a portion of its electricity through wind power. In 2008, the university received an Award of Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its recycling efforts. In January 2009, CUA opened the first new LEED-compliant student residence hall in Washington, D.C.

“The price of electricity, as we see it right now, is going to rise,” said Brian Alexander, director of energy and utilities management at CUA. “With this 20-year agreement, we will save money on our energy costs.”

“By hosting this project, CUA is also helping the District of Columbia achieve its citywide solar energy goals,” said Harry Warren, president of WGES of Herndon, Va. “The Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 calls for a growing contribution from solar energy each year through 2020, and CUA’s project will contribute about 10 percent of the city’s total solar power production goal for 2010.”

CUA has incorporated teaching moments in the project. Students, faculty and staff will have access via the CUA Web site to real-time data on the campus’ solar energy production. Engineering and architectural students will get a first-hand look at the installation. And a solar-energy design competition for students is being planned by the School of Engineering, which this year added an alternative and renewable energy concentration to its curriculum.

“Solar energy produces no carbon-dioxide emissions. Soon, almost 1 percent of the power we use will be climate beneficial,” Alexander said. With the use of solar-generated electricity, CUA will produce 332 fewer tons of carbon emissions annually. “This project shows our students, faculty and staff that solar power is one option as we all seek to make a greater contribution to solving the climate-warming issue,” he said.

“The Catholic University of America and Washington Gas Energy Systems are setting an example all colleges and universities should follow for the valuable role they serve in educating ­ and demonstrating ­ to the next generation of leaders throughout society how we all need to think and act more sustainably,” said Tony Clifford, chief executive officer of Standard Solar.

“Universities are uniquely positioned to deploy solar electric systems similar to Catholic’s,” Clifford added. “And they can do so with capital provided not by their operating budgets or endowments, but by investors who, like Washington Gas Energy Systems, purchase and own the panel systems and benefit from available tax incentives.”

Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc. is one of the largest competitive providers of electricity and natural gas in the mid-Atlantic region, and supplies over 250,000 customers in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Headquartered in Herndon, Va., Washington Gas Energy Services is an affiliate of Washington Gas and a subsidiary of WGL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: WGL). For more information, visit http://www.wges.com/.

MEDIA: For more information, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy in Catholic University’s Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5600; or Leah Gibbons, Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc., at 703-793-7565, 301-509-1508 or lgibbons@wges.com.

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19 December 2008:

On the horizon, solar energy sees its day in the sun

But utilities, suppliers differ on renewable
Baltimore Business Journal – by Elizabeth Heubeck, Contributor

Recent state legislation requires solar energy to be a sliver of the renewable energy pie feeding Maryland’s electricity supply. But right now, not all utility companies and suppliers are biting.

Energy analysts’ dire warnings of a pending electricity shortfall – including the threat of rolling brownouts in the state as soon as 2011 – convinced Maryland legislators that solar energy needed to be part of the long-term solution. In response, the legislature last year revised Maryland’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS), mandating that a portion of electricity suppliers’ sales comes from solar. The incremental increase started with .005 percent this year, and by 2022 will reach 2 percent of the state’s electricity supplies – equivalent to approximately 1,500 megawatts. In addition, 18 percent of Maryland’s electricity supply will be fueled by other renewable sources.

…

Washington Gas Energy Services Inc. said Dec. 3 it will partner with two Maryland companies to build one of the state’s largest solar power systems to date. The 150-kilowatt system, which Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES) will own, will consist of just under 9,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof of John E. Kelly & Sons Electrical Construction in Prince George’s County. Gaithersburg-based Standard Solar Inc. will design, construct, operate and maintain the system.

read the full article at http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/12/22/focus1.html.

read the press release here (pdf)

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