(Photo Credit: Albertus Magnus College on Twitter)The first phase of construction on a solar carport for Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut, has been completed. This 770-kilowatt carport photovoltaic solar power system is expected to offset approximately 30% of the college’s annual electricity consumption once fully installed.
Green Street Power Partners, construction management firm Shawmut, Swinerton Renewable Energy, and Avangrid Inc. subsidiary the United Illuminating Company are project partners with the college. The system is projected to produce approximately 923,940 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
Under a 25-year power purchase agreement, the college will purchase the electricity at a competitive fixed rate.
“The solar carports are a great way for us to turn otherwise unproductive parking areas into environmentally friendly energy-producing sites,” said Bill Hawkins, Albertus Magnus College VP for finance, administration, and treasurer. “We will save on utility costs and help the environment. As a bonus, we think students will also appreciate parking under the canopies which may provide some protection from the elements.”
Albertus Magnus is a Catholic college founded in 1925 by the Dominican Sisters of Peace and located on 50 acres in New Haven’s Prospect Hill neighborhood. A number of the college’s buildings are historic 19th Century mansions. Currently 1,500 students are enrolled in the Albertus Magnus’s traditional undergraduate program, accelerated adult degree programs, and 12 graduate programs.
Besides the solar carports, the college might add a 228-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic array to the campus athletic center. Construction on that array is currently in the planning stages, according to Albertus Magnus. If installed, it would offset 10% of the college’s annual electricity, bringing the total to 40%.
Potential benefits to solar carport projects for campuses include lower electricity bills and avoiding carbon emissions. The University of California, Santa Cruz recently signed a deal for a 2-MW solar parking canopy structure and energy storage system installation expected to save $6 million during the project term.
The United Illuminating Company
