18.5-acre facility to generate up to 25 percent of university’s electricity, produce $17 million in savings

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly will break ground this summer on a solar farm that will generate renewable energy, create Learn by Doing opportunities for students and save the university millions of dollars.



The facility, to be erected adjacent to Highway 1 on the western side of the Cal Poly campus, will be financed, designed, constructed and maintained by REC Solar, one of the nation’s largest solar providers. REC Solar, headquartered in San Luis Obispo, was founded by Cal Poly graduates in 1997.



The 18.5-acre solar farm is slated for completion in winter 2017. It will include more than 16,000 individual solar panels with a capacity of 4.5 megawatts (AC) and will generate more than 11 million kWh per year — enough to power more than 1,000 homes, or about 25 percent of Cal Poly’s total needs.



The solar farm will use single-axis tracking technology to follow the sun across the sky, producing approximately 30 percent more energy than a stationary system.



In addition to the environmental benefits, the energy produced by the solar farm will result in direct savings on Cal Poly’s utility bills totaling about $17 million over 20 years. The solar farm is being financed by REC Solar via a power purchase agreement (or PPA), which allows Cal Poly to purchase energy at a lower rate, without paying any upfront costs for the system construction and maintenance.



“This is the first major energy project Cal Poly has undertaken since we committed to achieving climate neutrality,” said Dennis Elliot, the university’s director of energy, utilities and sustainability. “This is a huge step toward our goal of climate neutrality, and we are very excited about using this new facility to support student hands-on Learn by Doing.”



The solar farm is being designed to maximize academic applications for both students and faculty. It will incorporate a solar engineering laboratory for students to conduct experiments with solar technology in a hands-on environment. A wide variety of performance data will be continuously measured and made available through a web-based dashboard to aid in solar technology research.



In addition, Cal Poly’s Animal Science program will use the site to research vegetation management practices for utility scale solar farms while grazing the site with its sheep herd.



REC Solar will partner with the university to provide funds for student and faculty involvement; help develop curriculum that meets Cal Poly’s sustainability learning objectives and educates future renewable energy professionals; and collaborate on applied research. The curriculum will integrate solar photovoltaic (PV) fundamentals into a variety of science and engineering courses and create new courses for renewable energy system design.



“We hope this solar farm sets the standard for how these infrastructure projects can support the university’s academic mission,” Elliot said, “and we are proud to be doing so with a local company with such strong ties to Cal Poly.”



About Cal Poly

Founded in 1901 and part of the renowned California State University system since 1960, Cal Poly is a nationally ranked, four-year, comprehensive polytechnic public university located in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Known for its Learn by Doing approach, small class sizes and open access to expert faculty, Cal Poly is a distinctive learning community whose 21,000 academically motivated students enjoy an unrivaled hands-on educational experience that prepares them to lead successful personal and professional lives. For more information, visit www.calpoly.edu.



About Cal Poly Sustainability

The 2014 CSU Sustainability Policy aims for all campuses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2040. On Earth Day 2016, Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong signed the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitment to take Cal Poly beyond this goal and reach full climate neutrality by 2050, meaning net zero emissions from all sources. For more information, visit www.sustainability.calpoly.edu.



About REC Solar

REC Solar is a nationwide leader providing complete commercial, public sector and utility-scale solar solutions. Incorporating experience from more than 580 successful commercial solar installations over 20 years, REC Solar tailors financing and technology solutions to immediately deliver bottom line savings. REC Solar makes solar simple, working seamlessly with customer operations to deliver clean energy for decades. For more information, visit RECSolar.com or call 844-732-7652.