Energy Efficiency, Energy Procurement, Finance, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  July 26, 2017

UVA teams up on Virginia solar farm

The University of Virginia announced July 20 that it signed a 25-year agreement with a proposed 120-acre solar facility in Virginia to purchase all the power generated on the solar farm to contribute to its electricity use on campus.

The 15-MW UVA Puller Solar facility, located in Middlesex County, Va., will provide 9% of the university’s total electric demand, according to a news release. Set to begin construction in late 2017 and be operational by the end of 2018, the facility will feature approximately 58,800 solar panels.

UVA estimates that the facility will reduce the campus’s carbon emissions by more than 15,000 metric tons and nitrogen emissions by 19 metric tons a year. The facility was developed by Coronal Energy and will be constructed and owned by Dominion Energy.

“This project, along with UVA’s Hollyfield and the Commonwealth’s Oceana Solar facilities, now means we are nearly halfway to achieving the 8 percent renewable procurement goal I set out in 2015,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. “I look forward to working with other public universities to follow UVA’s lead and power their educational operations with renewable energy.”

The collaboration with Dominion Energy on the solar facility is a continuation of UVA’s efforts to reach its sustainability goals. The university has committed to reducing its carbon and nitrogen footprints by 25% by 2025.

As part of this initiative, the university has already begun implementing energy reduction programs and has seen a drop in consumption in 51 of its most energy-intensive buildings, resulting in a 10% reduction in overall building energy use intensity since 2010.

“Expanding renewable, solar energy in the mix of options the University of Virginia is using will make even bigger strides in our efforts to be efficient, green and sustainable,” Patrick Hogan, UVA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

According to the news release, Dominion Energy has announced that it has 421-MW of large-scale solar facilities under development or already operational in Virginia.

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