Recycled solar power coming to 15 CSU campuses

By: Danielle Torralba

Posted: 10/27/08

Fifteen of the 23 California State University campuses, along with the CSU Chancellor's Office in Long Beach, will have eight megawatts of recycled solar power from a public-private partnership with SunEdison, CSU representatives announced last week.

"SunEdison is leasing rooftops to the CSU in return for the power they produce, which they have to buy back," said Sarah Bronstein, director of Community & Environmental Affairs of Associated Students at SJSU. "The CSU gets to use the energy for free and the energy is also sustainable and creates jobs and pumps money into the green economy, which our state is longing for right now."

Under the agreement, SunEdison will finance, build, operate and maintain the solar panels for 20 years, according to the CSU Web site.

The power purchase agreement consists of three phases that will raise the 20 percent of electricity that it already receives from green sources to 25 percent.

"Phase one consists of 4.2 megawatts of power that is distributed to four CSU campuses and four state buildings," said Erik Fallis, a media relations specialist for the CSU system. "Phase two is the 15 CSU campuses plus Chancellor's offices, which is eight megawatts capacity, and phase three is seven megawatts to all non-Cal State campuses, hospital and prisons."

SJSU was not one of the campuses chosen to be a part of the initiative.

Fallis said he doesn't know why any particular CSU wasn't a part of the agreement but applauded the institution on its environmental efforts.

"SJSU deserves a lot of credit on their transportation management," Fallis said. "It's a big impact overall on reducing the carbon footprint. A lot of credit to them actively managing transportation and using greener options."

Fallis said that there were reasons why the other CSUs were not chosen to be a part of the three-phase initiative.

"Two-thirds of CSU campuses were involved in either phase one or phase two," Fallis said. "A lot of the campuses have already moved forward under other agreements. Possibly, one of the reasons we got a really good agreement is because we did work with other state entities and the state of California and merged efforts together."

The SunEdison solar panels will be installed on rooftops, atop parking canopies and in ground-mounted arrays to 15 CSUs, according to a news release from the Chancellor's Office.

"We will be getting green power much less from SunEdison than if you were to get it off the local grid," Fallis said. "It will be decreasing the strain on California's electricity infrastructure. We will be generating energy where it's being used."

Julia Kamaroff, president of the Environmental Club, said the club wants SJSU to become more environmentally friendly.

"We want to show the campus how they can change their actions to better our campus," she said. "And, we also want to help give them the means to fulfill these actions."

Kamaroff said she thinks SJSU is moving in the right direction, even though SJSU was not part the 15 sites that were selected as part of the partnership.

"I think that the ball is already rolling, and this will not hinder it," she said. "There are a lot of interested parties in this movement towards a more sustainable campus."