It took three months to complete the project.
The project cost is $3.42 million and was successful because of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s California Solar Initiative, and Bank of America as the lender.
Once completed, this phase two solar project combined with the phase one solar conversion will generate about 44% of the campus’ electricity from solar power. By March 2009, the college will complete the final portion of this solar array project near the Physical Sciences building and the Child Development Center. The solar projects will produce 674,000 kilowatt hour each year.
This marks our college’s fourth campus solar array project since 2005 and work is underway to complete a fifth solar project in May. Our college has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2015 and this project helps us move closer to our goal. We would like to thank our partners for working closely with us to make it a reality including PG&E, Bank of America and Chico Electric, Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg, Butte College president said.
It’s exciting to be part of a renewable energy project for the college, Norm Nielsen owner of Chico Electric said. We’re glad to help create a special training site to be used for students and faculty.
The ground-mounted solar array near the waste water treatment plant is located on a 1/2 acre and will power the treatment facility used to recycle waste for wildlife habitat. Chico Electric donated and designed an installation area at the site to be used as a training lab for students and faculty to learn how to put solar panels together and take them apart.
I commend Butte College for completing this next step toward its goal of carbon neutrality, said Linda Crothers, president of Banc of America Public Capital Corporation. We are pleased to provide financing for this and other public and private sector projects so our clients can use solar to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. These efforts are part of Bank of America’s 10-year, $20 billion environmental initiative to address climate change.
The college will also realize a substantial financial savings since over the next 20 years it will pay a fixed energy-use fee and not be subjected to energy price increases. The projects will save the district $7.5 million after paying for the solar project.
