Wednesday, June 15, 2016
1:00 pm-2:00 PM EDT
Colleges and universities have long been leaders in implementing aggressive and innovative carbon reduction and renewable energy procurement strategies. Increasingly, leading higher education institutions are looking beyond their campuses to explore ways of inciting the deployment and adoption of renewable energy. This webinar featured two case studies that examined how colleges and universities can engage with the surrounding community to accelerate solar deployment.
The University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City, discussed its "U Community Solar" program, which offers members of the community a chance to install solar panels on their homes. Program members are eligible for a substantial discount on the cost of rooftop solar and a streamlined, simplified solar installation process. Members also have the option to donate the renewable energy certificates (RECs) associated with output of their solar system to the University.
St. Olaf College, located in Northfield, Minnesota, has subscribed to community solar gardens (CSG) to match 100 percent of their purchased electricity use. This includes hosting five, one-megawatt, CSGs on college land contiguous with the campus. For the hosted CSGs, St. Olaf is subscribed to 40 percent of the output, with area institutions and businesses taking the remaining 60 percent. The college is also home to a 1.65 megawatt wind turbine.