With a recent announcement that a 2-megawatt solar installation is planned for Colorado State University’s Foothills Campus this fall, the school will add to its already impressive clean energy portfolio. Colorado State University (CSU) already has a number of clean energy and conservation projects currently operational. The new installation “will generate enough power to meet more than 10 percent of the campus’s electricity demand,” the university said Monday. “The 15-acre array of solar panels is expected to be one of the largest solar power systems at a U.S. university when it’s done.”

The university’s website says that they are “working with Xcel Energy and renewable energy developer Renewable Ventures, a Fotowatio company, in an innovative public-private partnership, to leverage tax credits and incentives to finance the Foothills Campus solar power system. This partnership will enable the university to deploy the solar array under a long-term electricity contract with Renewable Ventures known as a Power Purchase Agreement. Colorado State University will provide the land under a long-term lease and will purchase the power produced from the solar array at a fixed rate for 20 years.” Renewable Ventures (mentioned here in an earlier post) installed the photovoltaic array at Denver International Airport. According to the Denver Business Journal, CSU “has a 20-year contract to buy power at a fixed rate 8 cents per kilowatt hour from the solar power plant. Brian Chase, the university’s facilities director, said CSU currently pays about 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity provided by Xcel Energy Inc., but the university expects power prices to rise in the next few years.” The article quotes Chase as saying that the school figures to “save close to $1 million over the next 20 years” as a result of the fixed pricing.

The school has a long history in developing solar panel technology. In April, Abound Solar spun off from the university after having been incubated in the school’s research facility. Colorado State is not the only university in the state with ambitious clean energy plans. A few months ago, 2nd Green Revolution carried a story about The Air Force Academy’s plans to be energy independent within five years.

CSU has also shown leadership in the area of sustainability in higher education. Check back in the following week or two for a story about the steps they have taken.

- Eric Wilson

[image source: Colorado State University]