YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo (YMCA) have signed a an agreement to purchase power from CGE Energy.
This was developed under the YMCA and CGE Energy’s preceding Master Agreement, which acts as the platform for the organizations’ collective vision for sustainable YMCA facilities throughout Michigan and Ohio.
The first phase of the PPA’s installation is a 511 kW solar PV array at YMCA Storer Camps in Jackson, Michigan. CGE Energy collaborated with their partners SolarWorld® to provide the campus with the cleanest and best PV products for reliable energy generation for the next 25-years. Also part of the Storer Camps project is the installation of nearly 1,000 Cree® LED lamps and fixtures.
"This PPA enables YMCA Storer Camps to be the world’s first outdoor educational campus to be Net Zero in their energy use," says Glen King, Chief Development Officer for YMCA of Greater Toledo. "We are attracting the future workforce of inventors and innovators that will be inspired by our world-class STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] total-immersion learning environment."
Once installation is complete, YMCA will be purchasing clean power produced at their campus for 10% less than they are currently paying. The non-profit is already partnering with corporations, utilities and other sources to increase their PPA discount rate to 100% for true sustainability.
When CGE Energy’s WIND-e20® wind turbine manufacturing is complete, Storer’s main campus along with a 40-acre field are identified as the locations for multiple turbines. "These Power Purchase Agreements are part of a larger vision," says Bryan Zaplitny, President/CEO of CGE Energy. "Sustaining the mission of YMCA impacts the lives of students in many ways that the energy savings will never speak towards."