Massive 7 Megawatt Solar Rooftop Grid Planned for Arizona State University

[vertex]

These are pretty aggressive plans. Two megawatts, up and running by the end of the year.

More than 20 percent of the energy needs of Arizona State University's main campus eventually could be met by one of the largest rooftop solar-power plants in the United States.

ASU planned to announce an agreement today under which three companies will install, at their expense, solar electricity-generating equipment on up to 330,000 square feet of rooftop space at its main campus in Tempe.

Jonathan Fink, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU, said that the university will pay the companies a fixed rate that is slightly lower than what it is now paying for power from Arizona Public Service Co.

If APS raises its rates, the savings will become greater, Fink said.

Besides saving the university money, the solar-generating system will provide an important teaching and research tool, he said.

The project is part of the university's sustainability initiative, which includes education, business practices, research and facilities.

The plan calls for 2 megawatts of generating capacity installed on 135,000 square feet by the end of the year.

That's enough to run 4,600 computers and reduce carbon emissions by 2,825 tons per year, or the equivalent of taking 530 cars off the road for a year. Long-term plans call for up to 7 megawatts of solar-generating capacity to be built at ASU in Tempe, with additional solar installations at its campuses in downtown Phoenix and other locations.

"These large-scale solar installations demonstrate ASU's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality through on-site, renewable-energy generation," ASU President Michael Crow said.

Brad Collins is executive director of the American Solar Energy Society in Boulder, Colo., a non-profit group that promotes use of solar energy. He agreed that ASU is making "a very significant commitment" toward solar energy.

"The largest rooftop installations we've seen so far have been in the order of 1 to 2 megawatts," he said.

Google has a 1.6-megawatt facility on the roof of its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, and last month, drug maker Schering-Plough announced plans for a 1.7-megawatt rooftop system at its Summit, N.J., campus.

Those facilities, however, are dwarfed by proposed ground installations, such as the 280-megawatt solar plant planned by APS near Gila Bend.

Collins said that such large-scale installations are helping bring down the cost of generation of solar power by creating more production capacity for the equipment.

The industry also is benefiting from federal and state tax credits and incentive payments from utilities such as APS.

Honeywell Building Solutions, Independent Energy Group and SolEquity will build the systems.

They will recoup their investment, thought to be $30 million to $50 million, by selling the electricity back to ASU under a 15-year contract.

Honeywell Building Systems is a unit of technology and manufacturing company Honeywell International.

SolEquity is a new venture backed by Arizona Technology Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Arizona State University Foundation.

Its mission is to enable the widespread adoption of solar-energy technology by bringing together hosts for solar systems, investors and suppliers. Independent Energy Group is an investment group.

Aaron Parker, a spokesman for Honeywell Building Solutions, said such purchase-power agreements increasingly are being used to finance large solar projects.

The financing arrangements spare ASU and others the enormous up-front cost of installing the systems, allowing them lower energy costs while reducing carbon emissions.

APS is under a mandate from state utility regulators to generate 15 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025 and is offering incentives to residents and business to install systems to generate renewable energy.

"It helps us meet the renewable mandate from the Arizona Corporation Commission and offsets the need for additional generation to meet future demand," said Barbara Lockwood, APS' manager for renewable energy.

She said a 2-megawatt system, such as the one planned at ASU, could qualify for up to $1 million a year in rebates from the utility.

Collins also noted the creativity and usefulness of the purchase-power agreement.

"We're starting to see a lot of innovative financing for solar installations," he said.

California's SolarCity, for example, is offering to install a 2.4-kilowatt residential system and lease it to the homeowner for as little as $70 a month.

[PhxSprawler]

How exciting! If only the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world would utilize their giant roofs in the same fashion, we would no longer need to burn coal or build more nuclear power plants.

[mind field]

Originally Posted by PhxSprawler

How exciting! If only the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world would utilize their giant roofs in the same fashion, we would no longer need to burn coal or build more nuclear power plants.

EXACTLY! It only makes sense in climates that recieve more than 300 days of sunny skies a year to utilize solar energy to the greatest extent. I wonder if it would be legal to require big box stores to have solar rooftop installation...i mean all that wasted energy falling on those massive big box rooftops! It just makes sense to me.

[texcolo]

Well, I've personally worked on an eco-friendly Walmart in Aurora, Colorado. It features two on-site windmills, south facing roof skylites than span the entire store, rooftops that encourage convection currents within the store, porous asphalt that acts as a filter to trap oil from cars that park on the lot... there's a twin of it in McKinney, Texas. So, there's two that I know of. Baby steps.

Just throwing that out there.

[mind field]

Originally Posted by texcolo

Well, I've personally worked on an eco-friendly Walmart in Aurora, Colorado. It features two on-site windmills, south facing roof skylites than span the entire store, rooftops that encourage convection currents within the store, porous asphalt that acts as a filter to trap oil from cars that park on the lot... there's a twin of it in McKinney, Texas. So, there's two that I know of. Baby steps.

Just throwing that out there.

Good for wal mart. You've got to start somewhere!

[LMich]

I'd like to see more solar, myself, but let's be real, 7 megawatts is a ridiculously low amount of energy. Every little bit helps, but even in highly sunny areas with miles of vacant land it's still only a supplement to base line power production.

[vertex]

It looks like 7 megawatts will provide about 7% of the power needed on campus. ASU won't become self-reliant over this, but it's not exactly a drop in the bucket.

Here's another article, this one from ASU.

ASU Leads The Nation With Largest University Solar Installation
Global Institute of Sustainability
June 10, 2008

Arizona State University (ASU) has awarded energy contracts to Honeywell Building Systems, Independent Energy Group and SolEquity to install two megawatts of solar electric modules on approximately 135,000 square feet of building rooftop space and some parking structures on its Tempe campus. With this investment ASU reaffirmed its commitment to renewable energy through what will be the largest deployment of solar power infrastructure by any U.S. university. The installation will begin in August 2008 with completion scheduled for December 2008.

The solar panels will meet up to 7% of the energy needs for ASU’s Tempe campus. Two megawatts of electricity can run approximately 4,600 computers. There is no up front cost for this installation that will generate approximately $425,000 worth of energy and reduce ASU’s carbon emissions by 2,825 tons per year as compared to traditional energy generation in the state of Arizona. The carbon reduction is equivalent to removing the annual emissions of 523 automobiles.

A study by ASU faculty and students in 2004 identified at least 330,000 square feet of roof space suitable for solar-based electricity generation on the Tempe campus alone. Due to the unprecedented expansion of new construction during the past few years, the roof space available for solar panels is now significantly larger. ASU’s solar energy plan now calls for the installation of up to seven megawatts on the Tempe campus with additional installations on ASU’s other campuses over the next several years.

“These large-scale solar installations demonstrate ASU’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality through on-site renewable energy generation coupled with extensive investment in energy efficiency and conservation” stated ASU President Michael Crow. “Long-term, ASU’s integrated research programs and business practices seek to transition energy markets away from fossil fuels toward advanced technologies that are economically competitive and environmentally benign.” Crow serves as chairman of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, an organization with nearly 600 signatories to date that is dedicated to carbon neutrality.

Under this new agreement, ASU contracts to purchase the power generated on its rooftops at a set price for fifteen years. The pricing takes advantage of federal and state tax credits as well as incentive payments provided by Arizona Public Service as authorized by the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Renewable Energy Standard Portfolio.

"I congratulate Dr. Crow and ASU for establishing the university as the national solar leader. Two megawatts of new distributed solar energy will help diversify Arizona’s energy system, clean our environment and accelerate the growth of a solar energy industry in the state. These are the same objectives sought by the Corporation Commission when it passed the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard in 2006," said Commissioner Kris Mayes of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Carol Campbell, ASU’s executive vice president and chief financial officer commented that this deployment illustrates ASU’s aggressive moves to adopt sustainable practices throughout the university’s four campuses – including water and energy conservation, use of sustainable materials in all facilities, minimizing waste generation, and recycling.

“This investment decision together with the recent awards of six significant solar energy research and development grants from the U.S. Department of Energy confirm that ASU has become a recognized national leader in solar energy,” states Jonathan Fink, director of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability, the hub for the university’s sustainability initiatives. “In addition, by requiring that the installations include the ability to collect, analyze, and display their performance data, the university is assuring that students, staff and the public at large will be able to track the amount of energy generated and used. As such, the system is a synergistic merging of research, economic development and education,” added Fink.

This announcement follows the recent decision by Arizona Public Service to build the largest solar thermal plant in the country.

“For the Sun Devils to become sun users is a sound business decision,” said APS Renewable Energy Manager, Barbara Lockwood. “Importantly, ASU’s leadership will have an impact on other large Arizona institutions and businesses considering similar installations. The more renewable energy customers produce, the better APS can manage the extraordinary growth in energy usage throughout the state.”

For the past 15 years, ASU has hosted the only photovoltaic testing laboratory in the U.S. “Arizona’s industry, government, universities and the public are all waking up to the fact that we need to better utilize our abundant solar resources in as many ways as possible,” said Fink.

ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability advances sustainability research, education, business practices, and the university's operations, with an emphasis on solutions that are relevant to an urbanizing world. Its first-in-the-nation School of Sustainability offers integrated degree programs that explore and advance practical solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges. For more information, visit:

http://sustainability.asu.edu or
http://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Karen Leland, 480-965-0013 /
karen.leland@asu.edu
Global Institute of Sustainability
Arizona State University

[Swede]

7% for a university campus isn't small, no. Also, what were the roofs doing before? Just being roofs, I guess. But with this they'll be generating 7% of ASU's power needs.

[tempedude]

Originally Posted by Swede

...what were the roofs doing before? Just being roofs, I guess.

Exactly.

The way I see it, solar power generating 7 megawatts or around 20% of ASU's power needs is a good start. I'll take it anyday.

I am a huge supporter of alternative energy sources. With the worlwide community now facing several critical challenges such as food, oil, overpopulation, global warming etc.; I just wish more had been invested in, or greater focus put upon, R&D for alternate energy sources 25 years ago. Who knows where we might stand today if we had.

[Trantor]

Originally Posted by LMich

I'd like to see more solar, myself, but let's be real, 7 megawatts is a ridiculously low amount of energy. Every little bit helps, but even in highly sunny areas with miles of vacant land it's still only a supplement to base line power production.

true, but then, the question here is not about solar power itself, but about our shitty tech which has an efficiency of only about 15% at most (75% of all solar energy captured by panels are wasted)

[mind field]

i wonder what the primary generation of electricity in Arizona is? It's the sunny desert. Solar should be a MAJOR player.

[tempedude]

Originally Posted by mind field

i wonder what the primary generation of electricity in Arizona is? It's the sunny desert. Solar should be a MAJOR player.

Generally, its either nuclear energy, hydroelectric, or coal, with solar energy being on the minimalist fringe.

[vertex]

^With about 500 megawatts generated by solar, coming online before 2010.

[LMich]

Doing a little research I was able to find that the main source of power in AZ is the same source as in most states: coal-fired power plants (39%) as of 2005. Next, is natural gas (29%), and then nuclear (25%). The state is currently shooting for 15% renewable energy by 2025.

[Lecom]

I want to see this done on the roofs of Vegas' expansive casino base venues.