By snoadmin
Cal State Long Beach is among a list of 21 prospective Cal State schools to receive more solar power installations. This endeavor will allow CSULB to take control over their power source and reduce their carbon footprint at absolutely no cost to students.
The original plan for installation of these solar panels began in 2008, and is currently entering its third and final phase per the agreement signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
The plan aims to service the entire CSU system with 25 megawatts of power. 25MW will reduce the carbon emission every year, which is equivalent to removing more than 2,600 cars from the road. The first phase started the initial 3.6MW. The second phase, which is scheduled for completion in 2011, will add 8MW more. The third phase ambitiously expects to add 13MW of installations, and should be completed by 2012.
CSULB currently houses 350 kilowatts of power at Brotman Hall, the Facilities Management Corporate Yard and Vivian Engineering Center. At peak conditions, CSULB requires 9.5-10MW annually.
It is up to the individual campuses to decide who receives the added solar panels. According to CSU media relations specialist Erik Fallis, each campus will need to conduct assessments and notify the CSU system of their findings and their availability to accommodate new solar panel installations.
Energy and Sustainability manager Paul Wingco is doing just that.
“We’ve already conducted preliminary surveys of possible locations for new solar panels,” he said.
Wingco said that the process has only just started, and Facilities Management is looking at roofs that offer wide-open space, are free from shade and are under warranty.
“Because this is a 20-year commitment, we do not want to have to replace a roof in the middle of [the contract],” Wingco said.
Once Facilities Management completes its survey of the buildings, the individual contractor will then do a re-assessment to solidify plans. Wingco said he hopes that the assessments and contract bids will be finalized in early to mid-2011.
According to Fallis, the best part is there is no competition with other campuses regarding which gets how much. The 13MW is more of an estimate, as opposed to a rationing, he said.
With the way the power-purchase agreement works, 15 companies bid against each other to fully finance the entire operation for 20 years. During those 20 years, each campus will purchase its power from the contractor who installed the panels, and at competitive or lower costs than general power, Fallis said. Once the 20-year contract expires, individual campuses are able to purchase the solar panel installations themselves at the devalued rate.
This agreement is different from previous endeavors by the CSU system, where typically one contractor would manage all the projects across multiple campuses. But this system of bidding will allow different companies to be present on different campuses, which will result in cheaper overall costs. Depending on the scale of the solar panel installation, some campuses might even have multiple companies building different installations, but that is unlikely.
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