Representatives from the University of California and SunPower dedicated the university’s newly constructed 16.3-MW (AC) solar power plant. The new plant, which is estimated by UC Davis to generate 14 percent of the campus’ total electricity needs, is the largest solar installation in the UC system and the largest “behind the meter” solar plant on a U.S. college campus off-setting electricity demand. The university expects to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint by nine percent, or 14,000 metric tons, as a result of the system.
Located on a 62-acre site south of Interstate 80, the plant was designed and built by SunPower, which also owns and operates the project and sells the power generated to UC Davis.
“UC Davis has a singular vision for integrating sustainable energy solutions,” said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, business units. “SunPower has been pleased to partner with the university, first on the landmark zero net energy UC Davis West Village community in 2011, and this year on the completion of the 16-megawatt plant we are celebrating today, the UC system’s largest operating solar power plant. 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.”
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At the site, SunPower installed a SunPower Oasis Power Plant system, a fully integrated, modular solar power block engineered to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy utility-scale solar projects while optimizing land use. The technology includes robotic solar panel cleaning capability designed by a SunPower innovation team based near UC Davis and uses 75 percent less water than traditional cleaning methods and may improve system performance by up to 15 percent.
Combined with other purchases of solar and hydroelectric energy, the plant is part of UC Davis’ plan to obtain 60 percent of its electricity needs from renewable and carbon-free sources by 2017, ahead of a state goal of 50 percent by 2020.
In addition to the new plant, UC Davis also has about another megawatt of solar power capacity from solar panels in campus parking lots and on buildings. The UC Davis West Village neighborhood has a separate power grid, including 4 MW of SunPower solar panels.
The University of California Office of the President announced last year that it will purchase more than 200,000 MWh per year of solar energy to supply several campuses, including UC Davis. In 2013, UC President Janet Napolitano committed the University of California system to a goal of zero carbon emissions by 2025.
— Solar Builder magazine
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