SunEdison’s City Tour for Solar arrived in Long Beach on Oct. 24, days after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a public-private partnership between the state and SunEdison that will establish a new photovoltaic (PV) solar power system in 15 CSU campuses to cut energy costs as well as their carbon footprints.
Although Cal State Long Beach is not one of the CSU 15 campuses included in the contract, it began installing solar panels in 2007 through an incentive program sponsored by the California Public Utilities Commission and has future plans for expanding its use of solar energy.
Solar panels were installed on Brotman Hall’s rooftop in 2007, and later on the Facilities Management equipment yard canopies.
The solar panels at Brotman Hall can produce 80-90 percent of the building’s peak energy demands. In the Facilities Management equipment yard, solar panels recharge electrical carts and provide solar-powered electricity to the neighboring Public Safety building.
In a day, the solar panels produce approximately 4 percent of CSULB’s energy, according to Ed Parra, manager of Facilities Engineering and Electrical Services.
By February 2009, the Vivian Engineering Center will also be powered by PV technology, Parra said.
“They’re very easy to take care of,” Parra said of the solar panels. “Twice a year we need to wash them. We ensure they’re clean and all the electrical connections are tight.”
An online monitoring system, accessible through the CSULB website, displays real-time data of solar energy use on campus.
“It’s in its infancy,” Parra said, adding that the site should be completed in two or three weeks and will feature year-to-date information on CO2 emissions and energy savings.
The 20-year contract allows SunEdison to finance, build and operate solar panels at the campuses. Implementation will start within the year or by early 2009, according to Chris Bradt, from the City Tour for Solar.
University communities, where students and faculty work, study and live, are optimal locations for PV solar power systems, according to Bradt.
“With the concentration of people in one particular place, it’s very easy to utilize solar [energy],” Bradt said. “You have a community that can be taught about energy efficiency. It’s very easy for people to think about these kinds of issues … It becomes part of the culture.”
The institutions included in the contract, according to a press release from the office of the governor, are CA Maritime Academy in Vallejo, Cal State Universities at Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Chico, Fullerton, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Pomona (Cal Poly), Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Bernardino (Palm Desert), San Francisco, San Marcos, Stanislaus and the CSU Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach.
The amount of solar energy-generated electricity produced under the California-SunEdison contract will offset approximately 9,485 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to removing 48,937 cars from the road.
While the CSU system attempts to simultaneously reduce its energy costs and carbon footprint, students may also benefit from the on-campus PV systems.
“It’s difficult for students to believe in what they’re being taught in the classroom if someone isn’t actively showing them those steps,” Bradt said. “[Solar energy] is very much a reality that can be demonstrated as reality.”
Bradt discussed the responsibility of university students to become aware and involved in solar panel technology as it continues to develop.
“Today’s generation is going to be the generation responsible for seeing [solar] technology applied,” Bradt said. “This generation that utilizes energy from an increasingly clean and increasingly renewable energy source.”
In addition to universities, SunEdison partners with municipalities, utilities, corporations and prisons. SunEdison recently partnered with Kohl’s, Staples and Wal-Mart, according to Bradt.
SunEdison is not related to the utility provider Edison International.
The City Tour for Solar is an interactive PV solar power exhibit that began on Aug. 1 in Golden, Colo. The tour travels to 50 nationwide cities in 100 days before concluding in Sacramento on Nov. 1.