Furthering California’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Governor Schwarzenegger announced the state has partnered with SunEdison to provide 8 megawatts (MW) of solar power at 15 California State University (CSU) campuses and the CSU executive office.
"California is going green and we are doing it first and we are doing it fast," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "With the partnership being announced today between California and SunEdison, we are seeing more tangible results and more follow through in reducing our state’s carbon footprint. This partnership is a good deal for the state, the planet and our economy–all at no cost to taxpayers."
As state government’s contract manager, the Department of General
Services (DGS) negotiated the alternative financing method known as a
power-purchase agreement for CSU. The agreement allows CSU to buy
renewable power at or below current retail rates while avoiding the
cost of installing the system. Under this agreement, SunEdison will
finance, build and operate the solar panels for 20 years.
The 8 MW of energy produced by the solar panels are expected to deliver approximately 12 million kilowatt hours of clean renewable energy in the first year of operation. This amount of solar generated electricity represents 5% of the entire CSU system’s yearly energy consumption.
New SunEdison solar panels will be installed on rooftops, atop parking canopies and in ground-mounted arrays at the following locations: CA Maritime Academy, Vallejo; CSU Bakersfield; CSU Channel Islands; CSU Chico; CSU Fullerton; CSU Humboldt; CSU Los Angeles; CSU Monterey Bay; CSU Pomona (Cal Poly); CSU Sacramento; CSU San Bernardino; CSU San Bernardino (Palm Desert): CSU San Francisco; CSU San Marcos; CSU Stanislaus; and, the CSU Office of the Chancellor, Long Beach.
The State of California-SunEdison solar purchase agreement arranged by the Department of General Services (DGS) should yield a total of approximately 20 MW of new renewable energy for the state. In addition to the 8 MW of solar power generation announced today, further development is under way by DGS and other state departments, including the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Mental Health, to generate approximately 7 MW of solar power at five state prison sites and three state mental hospitals. Since 2006, 4.2 MW of solar power have already been deployed at eight other state facilities through similar power purchase agreements.
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